


Back to the Future: The Epic Adventure Story

by PerkyGoth14



Category: Back to the Future (Movies), Sabrina the Teenage Witch (TV)
Genre: F/M, Multi
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-06-01
Updated: 2020-06-11
Packaged: 2021-03-02 22:20:44
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings, No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 15
Words: 56,609
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/24484213
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/PerkyGoth14/pseuds/PerkyGoth14
Summary: In an alternate universe of adventures, Cherry and her friends meet a girl named Sabrina Spellman who becomes their very best friend and they become adventure students where they'll be sent on various new adventures with new friends to meet. Their first big mission is to meet a teenager named Marty McFly who is about to have a big adventure of his own with the help of Doc Brown.
Relationships: Drell/Hilda Spellman, Harvey Kinkle/Sabrina Spellman, Marty McFly/Jennifer Parker
Kudos: 3





	1. Prologue

**Author's Note:**

> Hello, my loyal watchers. PerkyGoth14 here with another crossover fic coming your way with yet another Alternate Universe. Sonic Thunder Saiyan Turtle and I hope you like it as you go along, just be patient for the Back to the Future aspect and pay close attention to the timelines listed and enjoy with some popcorn and soda! Read & Review.

In another world, Cherry Butler, Atticus Fudo and his dog Patch, Monique "Mo" Brown, and Lionel Schwartz live in a reality where the present day is 1979; the whole group was 10-years-old and were enjoying their summer on the day they would first meet Sabrina Spellman. It all began when the group was walking down the streets of the suburbs of Greendale.

"Should we go to the park today?" Atticus suggested. "Maybe I'll become as strong as Flash Gordon."

"Oh, boy." Cherry scoffed playfully.

"It is a pretty beautiful day," Mo gave a small smile. "It might be nice to get out a little instead of watching cartoons all day on Saturday."

"To the park then!" Lionel proclaimed.

The group soon ran off together to have fun at the park and as they ran there, a blonde girl was shown to be staring at the ground as she was swinging herself, looking a little upset about something.

"Saaay, what's going on here?" asked Lionel as he backed up. "Hi, there! What's wrong?" he asked.

"Gah!" The girl yelped, falling off of her swing.

"Whoa! Heh, sorry... Didn't mean to scare ya." Lionel said, helping her up.

The girl looked over before sighing softly. "It's okay..."

"Anyways, back to my question," said Lionel. "What's the matter? You look as though someone spat on your ice cream and pushed you in the mud."

"It's nothing..." The blonde girl said softly.

"Come on, tell us what happened... Maybe we can help?" Atticus suggested.

"I don't wanna talk about it." The blonde girl sulked.

"Great, we don't wanna hear it-" Cherry said before grunting, unable to move any further.

Patch growled as he had bitten on her clothes to hold her back since that wasn't good manners.

"Cherry, don't be rude," Lionel snapped. "Anyways, you look like you could use a friend."

The blonde girl simply sighed.

"Please?" Mo smiled. "I don't think I've seen you around town before."

"I just moved here from Riverdale..." The blonde girl soon explained. "My dad sent me here... Because... Because..."

The others looked a bit anxious to hear the rest of the explanation.

"My parents got divorced!" The blonde girl soon cried out and broke down into tears.

Lionel patted the girl on the back. "There, there... It's fine." he replied.

The blonde girl cried in her hands.

"I'm so sorry..." Mo frowned to the blonde girl. "I wish we could help... Why don't we help you make some new friends?"

"Yeah!" Lionel replied, standing up. "And you can start with us... 'Cuz nothing helps people cope with hard changes like making new friends!"

The blonde girl sniffled and looked up to them. Atticus, Mo, Patch, and Lionel smiled innocently while Cherry gave a plain wave.

"You'd be my friends?" The blonde girl asked, wiping her eyes with her arm a bit.

"Sure!" Atticus nodded.

"Oh... Okay..." The blonde girl sniffled.

"What's your name anyway?" Cherry asked.

"Sabrina," The blonde girl soon said. "Sabrina Spellman."

"Well, nice to meet'cha, Sabrina Spellman!" Lionel beamed. "I'm Lionel Schwartz, that's Atticus Fudo and his dog Patch, his best-bud Cherry Butler, and his girlfriend Mo Brown!"

Sabrina looked to them before a small smile formed on her face. Eventually, they all began to play together on the playground as they all became friends.

* * *

A couple of years later, in 1981, when Sabrina turned 12, the kids found out that she was part-witch. They were soon sitting down in front of Sabrina's guardians who were her paternal aunts: Hilda and Zelda. The two adults were explaining everything to the kids who had slept over since Sabrina wanted them to the night before, and this morning, something strange had happened.

"So... I'm a witch...?" Sabrina asked her guardians.

"Not just you... We're witches... Your father's a witch..." Zelda replied.

"And I suppose my _mom_ is a witch too?" Sabrina asked in disbelief.

"No, she's mortal." replied Hilda.

"Gotta say... This is unexpected." Lionel remarked.

"It's also why your parents divorced..." Zelda said softly. "The Witch's Council frowns upon mortal/witch marriages."

"Well, that's dumb!" Cherry scoffed.

"You'll become in more control of your powers when you turn 16, Sabrina, and that's why you live with us now," Zelda educated her niece. "We're your magical guardians."

"Unusual, but pretty awesome," Lionel remarked. "Whatever we can do to help, we'd be more than happy to!"

"I'm afraid mortals aren't allowed to know," Zelda said. "We'll have to erase your memories before The Witch's Council punishes us for letting you all know our secret. The ruler is a hardheaded, tyrannical monster."

"I used to date him." Hilda then added onto that.

"Wait!" Lionel replied. "I'll _prove_ that I'm not mortal!" he then took hold of his head, and removed it, spinning it like a basketball.

Hilda and Zelda looked a bit shocked and overwhelmed from that before Zelda soon fainted in the middle of the kitchen floor.

"Whoa. Super freaky." Hilda and Zelda's black cat known as Salem remarked.

"WAUGH!" Cherry panicked herself. "Talking cat!"

"Lemme guess, he's magic too?" asked Lionel as he bounced his head from elbow-to-elbow.

Atticus put Lionel's head back on with a sheepish look on his face.

"Salem..." Hilda sighed.

"I was once a very powerful warlock with a lot on my mind," Salem said, hopping onto the kitchen table, looking right at Sabrina and the others. "I had big plans of world domination! The Witch's Council found out and sentenced me to 100 years as a self-licking, hairball hacking, litter box using cat!"

"Well... Could be worse," replied Lionel. "You _could_ be sitting on a lilypad and eating flies."

"Yeah, I guess..." Salem rolled his golden eyes.

"Well, you others can't know about this, I'm sorry," Hilda told Cherry, Atticus, and Mo. "I better get you out of here before-"

The toaster soon popped up as a note was in it, confusing them.

"The Witch's Council finds out..." Hilda finished with a sigh.

"Hey, if I can know, then so do my pals!" Lionel replied. "I don't care what happens to me! I got nothin' to lose anyway!"

"Did a note just come out of the toaster?" Cherry asked.

"It's from the Witch's Council." Hilda replied.

Cherry soon went to go get it and open it up. "Seems like you guys are in trouble..." she said, then yelped as a loud, booming voice came from it, making her jump a bit.

 ** _"Hilda, Zelda, report to the Witch's Council immediately, and bring those kids with you!"_ **The voice demanded.

"Boy, he sure sounds friendly." Cherry muttered weakly, trying to catch her breath.

"Well, let's go see the big cheese." Lionel replied, before morphing into a mobster. "Besides, I got a plan, see? A very _good_ plan, see? Myeah!"

"All right... How do we get to this 'Witch's Council'?" Atticus soon asked Hilda and Zelda.

"It's ten-million lightyears away... But there's a shortcut through our linen closet." Zelda replied.

* * *

Eventually, they found themselves upstairs in the Spellman house.

"All right, just go through there." Hilda said.

"No problem, at least you're coming too, right?" Cherry replied.

Hilda and Zelda looked to each other.

"Right?!" Mo asked, a bit nervously.

"The Council will respect you more if you go alone," Zelda advised. "Now make a left at the towels and follow the signs."

"Oh, no, no, no," Cherry shook her head sheepishly. "I'm not going anywhere without adult supervision."

"Look, we'll _all_ go." said Mo.

"Yeah, we'll have each others' back." Atticus agreed.

Sabrina took a deep breath and let out an exhale as she soon opened the linen closet door and walked in with them.

"And watch out for Drell!" Hilda called out.

"And whatever you do, don't stare at his mole!" Zelda added.

The closet door soon closed as they went in which made thunder and lightning erupt behind it as they made it into The Other Realm.

* * *

"Theatrical, ain't it?" asked Lionel as they made their way through.

They soon came into what looked like a small table with three people at it.

"Sorry, is this the Witches Council?" Sabrina asked them.

"Yes. I don't believe you have an appointment." The female witch told them, sitting with two males.

The smaller male smiled to them with a friendly wave.

Lionel cleared his throat and spoke in a deep tone like Dr. Claw. " **WE HAVE COME TO SPEAK WITH THE WITCHES' COUNCIL.** " he said.

"Well, you're here, my name is Drell, and I'm in charge, and I-" The bigger warlock smirked before yelling at him. " **WILL DO THE VOICE RAISING!** "

That seemed to make the others fall on top of each other.

"I'll try to remember that..." Cherry said, a bit weakly.

"Now then... It seems you were told about the Spellman family being of witches..." Drell told them. "I'm sorry, but mortals are not allowed to know, so prepare to be turned into blocks of stone, and-"

The smaller warlock soon saw the group and nudged him.

"Skippy, not now, I'm monologuing." Drell glared at him.

"Ah, but I am not mortal," explained Lionel. "Case in point..." he once again removed his head and bounced around like a basketball. "Ya see, Sabrina shouldn't have to shoulder the burden of this secret alone. We don't wanna lose our memories or get turned into rocks or nothing! We'll do anything, see? Anythin'!"

"I'm sorry, but the rules clearly state that-" Drell continued until Skippy kept gesturing wildly behind him. "If you keep that up, I swear I'm gonna-"

Skippy soon whispered something into his ear.

"What?" Drell asked.

Skippy whispered some more and pointing to Atticus, Cherry, and Mo.

"I know that one kid took his head off, but-" Drell replied only to hear more whispering and his eyes widened before he slowly turned back to the three and looked a bit shocked. "Oh, my gosh... Why didn't I see it?!"

"My pals?" asked Lionel's head as it jumped into his arms. "What about them?"

Drell soon slowly walked up to them, standing over them before picking them up like they were dolls.

"Uh, hello?!" Cherry gasped. "Can I help you?!"

"Gosh, he was bigger than I thought." Atticus gulped nervously.

Drell continued to examine them. "They must've not unlocked their power yet..." he then said to Skippy since nothing magical happened. "Unlike that one kid."

"Hey, get to the point, ya big galoot!" Lionel snapped. "What's the big idea?!"

Drell soon dropped Atticus, Cherry, and Mo back on top of each other.

"You should never be allowed to handle children..." Cherry groaned from the pain.

"Ah! I'll have you know that I've been World's Best Uncle for 12 years running!" Drell smirked. "Anyway... Sabrina, your friends appear to have magic of their own, and will be finding out about it very soon."

"So... Am I in trouble or what?" Sabrina asked.

"Hmm... Not today..." Drell said before looking to the fallen tree individually. "You three are actually born in the Magical Kingdom, you just don't know it yet, but I would talk about this with your parents/guardians."

"Interesting," Lionel replied as he screwed his head back into place. "Well, if they're gonna learn to harness their powers, they'll need a mentor; a guru, a guide, so to speak."

"Excuse us a moment while we discuss this," Drell told them, pointing out the doorway. "Wait in the waiting room while we discuss this intelligently."

Atticus, Cherry, Mo, Lionel, and Sabrina soon went to wait.

* * *

"All right... So who wants to babysit these little rookies?" Drell smirked to Skippy and Enchantra, stroking his pet mole, a bit mischievously like he was trying to weasel himself out of it.

Enchantra snorted. "Well, I can either choose... You... Or I could choose Della, but then again, maybe you're clearly not qualified. I'll be sure to let Della know she's got some new trainees."

"DELLA?!" Drell gasped before glaring. "You gotta be kidding me!"

Skippy chuckled a bit to himself.

"If you're not willing..." Enchantra smirked to Drell.

"Grrr... You know how I feel about that witch." Drell said through his teeth.

"So you're reconsidering your choice?" asked Enchantra. "You genuinely want to take on these new trainees?"

Drell soon slumped back down into his chair, petting his mole a bit.

"It's up to you of course..." Enchantra said. "I can always call Della."

"You know I'm better than Della, don't ya, Moley?" Drell cooed to his pet which seemed ambiguous on whether it was dead or alive.

"Well, I guess that settles it," Enchantra replied, conjuring her Spell Phone. "Hello, Della? I have some new trainees for you... Apparently Drell didn't want to take them on. Ah, well. More for you!"

"NO!" Drell cried out, rushing over.

Enchantra soon ran with the phone to avoid him. "Oh, but Drell, you don't like kids, besides Della is more experienced, not to mention she-"

"Della, I'm gonna look after the half-pints!" Drell soon yelled out so that Della would hear him. "It's gonna be lots of fun, and I'm gonna be a way better mentor than you'll ever be!" he then smirked like an immature child, crossing his arms. "Ha! You're not the boss of me, Enchantra."

Enchantra smirked. "Technically, I _am_ ; but sure, keep telling yourself that," she replied. "I knew your gargantuan ego wouldn't let you pass up the chance to try and prove your superiority over Della."

Drell just stuck his tongue out, crossing his arms from that. "Even if that one girl suspiciously shares a name with the girl who broke my heart centuries ago..." he then said, feeling a little sad now.

"Surely it's a coincidence." Enchantra said to him.

"Pah! Sure!" Drell rolled his eyes. "I bet she married someone else and she sent that blonde brat to spite me and that might be my daughter all this time and she married someone else!"

"You said 'she married someone else' twice." Enchantra replied.

"I miss Hilda, okay?!" Drell then cried.

"And you've made that quite clear," Enchantra replied. "The point is, you're going to be their mentor whether you like it or not... And frankly, I don't care whether you like it or not! Besides, I didn't _really_ call Della, I just faked it!"

"Duh... Huh?!" Drell asked. "You duped me?!"

"Have fun~" Enchantra smirked to him, showing that she hadn't really called Della.

Drell stuttered and twitched before he loudly yelled out, making the waiting room shake a bit where Sabrina was with her new friends.

* * *

"That guy scares me." Sabrina said nervously.

"Ah, he ain't so frightening," scoffed Lionel. "I've seen scarier stuff in a toxic waste dump."

"Yeah, don't be a baby." Cherry smirked.

Drell soon slammed the door open, coming out to them.

"Dah!" Cherry yelped from surprise in that. "Erm... That door sounded loud."

"Alright... Looks like I'm stuck having to mentor you little gnats." Drell grumbled.

"Well, we're not exactly turning cartwheels over it, either." retorted Lionel.

"Uh... Mentoring us...?" Cherry asked. "What does that mean exactly?"

"It means, for the next however long it takes, I'm going to be teaching you about your special powers, and you all have to do what I say when I say it," Drell explained. "So... You're all stuck with me for a while."

"That shouldn't be too bad, right?" Atticus smiled nervously.

"It might be," replied Sabrina. "I just hope Aunt Zelda and Aunt Hilda will understand."

"Relax, Hilda said she used to date Drell," said Lionel. "So if he shows up... She'll probably know."

"You all have to listen to me too," Drell said. "If I tell you something, you do it. If I want you to jump, you ask 'How high?'. If I want you to run, you run. If I want you to make me a sandwich, you do it."

"What happens if we don't want to?" Cherry asked, a bit sassily, trying to be brave.

"Then I turn you into toads," Drell replied. "Example one..." he zapped Lionel into a toad.

"Whoa!" Lionel remarked before croaking. "Not cool!"

Cherry cupped her mouth a bit nervously.

"Any other questions?" Drell asked.

"Can you turn him back...?" Cherry asked nervously.

"Depends... Are you going to be my students or is this going to become Toad Central?" Drell smirked.

"We'll do it! Just please don't do anything dangerous!" Mo begged.

Drell grinned. "GREAT!" he replied, as he zapped Lionel back to normal.

"Well... That was unusual..." Lionel remarked, cracking his neck. "Guess you got yourself some students."

"That's right..." Drell smirked. "I'll see you when I see you."

"You mean you're gonna call us on the telephone before you come over, right?" Cherry asked.

"No promises," smirked Drell. "As your mentor, I'll come over whenever I like."

"Seriously?!" asked Lionel. "How is that even fair?!"

Drell cupped his ear. "Wait... Do I hear someone who wants to be a toad again?" he asked rhetorically.

Lionel sat down. "No, sir."

"That's what I thought," replied Drell. "You catch on quickly, kid."

"Ooh, why do I feel like the next few years of my life are going to be painful and humiliating?" Cherry groaned to herself.

"Likewise." Lionel replied.

"Hey, it won't be so bad," replied Atticus. "At least we're all together!"

Lionel rolled his eyes. "You really _are_ something, that's for sure."

"Aw, come on, guys!" Atticus smiled. "Teamwork always helps! Don't you watch Saturday Morning Cartoons?"

"Probably not as much as you." Cherry smirked flatly.

"Frequently," replied Lionel. "But I guess you're right."

Drell soon magicked up a huge stack of papers, piling them onto the group, drowning them in papers. "Have yourselves and parents sign these and bring them back to me when I come to visit your homes first thing tomorrow," he then told them. "I expect this all to be done, not a moment more, not a moment less."

"All of _this_ done by tomorrow?!" Cherry gasped, poking her head out. "Are you insane?!"

Lionel raised his hand.

"Yeah?" asked Drell. "What is it?"

"I don't _have_ parents," replied Lionel. "I can sign these, but... Yeah."

"Oh... Sad... Anyway, still, have these signed, sealed, and ready by tomorrow morning." Drell said.

"You've got to be joking, there's no way we can get all of this signed and ready by tomorrow!" Cherry replied to him.

"You're right... I haven't sent you home yet!" Drell said, rather obliviously. "Time to go home, I'll see you guys tomorrow."

"You're not listening to me!" Cherry whined.

"I'm the boss, so I don't _have_ to!" Drell snapped as he sent them back through the portal.

"Don't worry," said Lionel. "I got a plan to deal with this!" He cracked his knuckles and zapped the papers, condensing them down to only three sheets of paper each.

The group soon stood up once they were free from the endless paper pile.

"Ugh... Bogus..." Cherry groaned. "Thanks a lot, Sabrina."

"What?! What did I do?" Sabrina asked.

"If you hadn't invited us over on that sleepover, we wouldn't be in this mess!" Cherry ranted.

"Well, excuse us if she wanted to have a better bond with her friends," replied Lionel. "Besides, I bet he just made it that long so that we wouldn't be able to finish it! That fat bastard!"

"Grr... I hate this already..." Cherry groaned.

"Cherry, come on, we're friends, we help each other, just think of what the world holds for us in the future." Atticus advised.

"Yeah, I bet my future's gonna look really bright right about now." Cherry rolled her eyes.

"Exactly! And I'm gonna make sure of it, even if it kills me!" Lionel replied.

Cherry still grumbled as they then left The Other Realm to come back to Hilda and Zelda who were pacing around until they came back.

* * *

"Oh, Sabrina, thank goodness!" Hilda beamed, hugging her niece.

"We were worried about you guys." Zelda told the rest of them.

"Gee, sure didn't seem that way when you sent us in by ourselves," Cherry replied. "Respect, NOTHING!"

"Not to mention we got stuck with that fat bastard Drell as our magical mentor!" Lionel added. "Thanks a _lot_!"

"Mentor...?" Hilda and Zelda asked.

"Yeah, apparently we have something he liked, so he made himself our mentor for the magical world or something like that." Atticus replied.

"I don't think I've seen him do that before." Hilda said to her sister.

"Well, he did," Cherry grumbled. "Now we're gonna be stuck in this life for... I don't know how long, but it's gonna be a nightmare, I just know it!"

The kids, save for Atticus, grumbled in agreement.

Hilda patted them on their heads before storming off upstairs. "Okay, Drell... Get ready for an old face!" she then stormed off into the Other Realm while Zelda made them all a quick lunch.

"Hilda? What a surprise..." Drell's voice sounded happy at first until he soon got angry. " **OH, GET YOUR HANDS OFF MY MOLE!** "

Lionel snickered. "It's not much, but it's at least emotionally satisfying." he replied as he ate.

"I'm sorry you all had to go through that," Zelda frowned. "I didn't think he'd make you his personal students. He hasn't done that before."

"It's okay, I guess, Ms. Zelda..." Cherry shrugged.

"I just wish we'd known about what a scummy, despicable person he is." added Mo.

"He also seems to get some sort of demented joy out of being a jerk," Lionel replied. "Somebody ought to teach him a lesson! Preferably a painful one."

"Trust me, I know..." Zelda replied. "He and Hilda almost got married, but he abandoned her at the altar."

"Did he ever say why?" Cherry asked.

"I don't know, but they swore to never see each other again." Zelda sighed.

"And knowing _him_ , he's probably going to take that out on US." Lionel remarked.

"Oh, boy..." Cherry sighed.

* * *

Eventually, the next morning came, and everyone had their papers signed and ready to go as they met up on the front porch of the Spellman house.

"Well, that wasn't so bad..." Cherry said to the others. "Hopefully this satisfies him."

"Same here." Lionel replied as they entered the Other Realm.

Sabrina was on her way following them, but turned around out of cowardice. "I don't wanna go back, Drell scares me!" she then whined.

"We have to," said Lionel. "Otherwise if we don't go to him, _he'll_ go to _us_. And I know we don't want that."

Sabrina bit her lip nervously, and she soon followed after her friends.

* * *

They soon came into The Other Realm yet again with their paperwork. Skippy right now was polishing Drell's shoes while the bigger warlock was reading a newspaper, looking enraged a bit as Della seemed to be a candidate for Witch of the Year in the Netherworld.

"Hey, Drell! We're back with your cruddy paperwork!" Lionel snapped.

"Ah... Good..." Drell smiled at them, trying to keep his anger in check. "Skippy, take their paperwork."

Skippy walked up to them, collecting their papers in his arm before going to put it aside.

"All right... Now, I hope you don't have plans after this 'cuz you're gonna be busy for a while..." Drell said as a very long while would pass.


	2. Chapter 1: Working for the Weekend

Eventually, the years went by with them as his students, he usually taught them their magical abilities with Cherry being the granddaughter of a powerful witch and having her own magic related into the Dream World, Atticus was revealed to be a Wiccan with Patch being able to talk, now becoming his magical familiar, and Mo's powers mostly related to Mother Nature such as growing her own plants or vines at will, and Lionel's powers were a bit indescribable, and Sabrina was told how to use her inner witch powers from her father's side of the family. All the while the song "Working for the Weekend" by Loverboy played in the background. And yet, as the time went by, the kids felt that Drell was just doing this so he could prove he was the best, not because he cared about them, but around the Spring of 1984, the group would meet another witch whom Drell was on par with that would change things for sure. The group panted as they were having a hard and long day of training from their latest visit with Drell.

"Okay... Before we go see Drell again, I think I need a nap..." Cherry said. "He's working us like dogs!"

"Hey!" Patch pouted.

"It's an expression, Spot..." Cherry told him.

"Even dogs... Should not have to work like dogs..." Lionel groaned, his body falling to pieces. "But he's working us to the bone!"

"Let's rest up for a bit before we go see him again." Mo said.

The group soon fell onto the floor together to get as much sleep as possible before Drell would come and get them.

And as they did, Drell popped out of the closet like a gopher. "Alright, maggots, up and at 'em!" he exclaimed. "Hey, what's going on here? Why aren't you uppping at atting?"

"We're exsssssaussssssted, you twit..." Lionel groaned in his Cobra Commander impression. "Our bonesss are ssssscreaming in agony!"

"Aww... Are you tired...?" Drell cooed to them. "You wanna stay home and sleep?"

The others looked hopeful about that option.

"That's not an option!" Drell told them. "Get back in here before I drag you in here!"

"We're tired..." Cherry complained. "Can't we take a day off?"

"There are no days off!" snapped Drell.

"Not even Christmas?" asked Lionel.

"ESPECIALLY _NOT_ CHRISTMAS!" Drell boomed in a demonic voice.

"If I could raise my arm... I would flip you off..." Lionel grunted.

"Why are you torturing us so...?" Atticus groaned.

"That's it!" Drell said before he soon went in the closet.

The group looked to each other and the closet door soon slammed open all the way before a strong wind began to blow them all off of the floor to bring them in.

"Augh! I don't wanna die! I don't wanna die! I don't wanna die!" Cherry cried out, grabbing onto the door-frame as the others grabbed onto her, dangling like a chain as the wind tried to pull them in.

* * *

The group all screamed as they were sucked into the closet and landed one by one in a pile in the Other Realm.

"Welcome back." Drell smiled at them.

"You're a sadist... You're a freakin' sadist, man!" Cherry grumbled.

"Admit it," Lionel snapped. "You're still hung up on Hilda, so you get your kicks out of tormenting US!"

Drell soon glared at them a bit.

"Uh-oh..." Cherry and Atticus groaned.

"Did I say to never mention that name around me...?" Drell asked, slowly getting angry.

"Heh! He didn't mean it!" Cherry smiled nervously. "He didn't say Hilda! Uh... He said... Um... Gilda! Like that lady on _Saturday Night Live_?"

"NO! You know what? I have HAD IT!" Lionel snapped. "Whatever issues you have with Miss Spellman are your own. So deal with them on your OWN time! But don't go taking it out on _us_! Because that doesn't make you great; it makes you seem like A PETULANT, SPOILED CHILD! MAYBE YOU SHOULD ACT YOUR AGE AND NOT YOUR SHOE SIZE!"

The others looked scared and nervous of what Drell's next move would be.

"Hmph..." Drell snorted to Lionel.

"My, my... I see that temper never changed..." A female voice soon said behind him.

"Eh? Who's there?" asked Drell.

"Don't you remember me...?" The female voice smirked.

Soon, they all looked to see a woman with curly black hair with a smirk on her face with emerald green eyes, wearing a red dress with black boots.

"Della..." Drell growled. "Nobody invited you here."

Lionel did a confused Scooby-Doo style double-take. "Like, wouldja mind explaining what's the deal here?" he asked in a Casey Kasem impression.

"Uh... Sir...?" Atticus spoke up. "Who is this?"

"This is Della..." Drell narrowed his eyes. "My previously-established rival that you're just now hearing about."

"Oh, Drell, we're not rivals," Della cooed to him. "You know that we were close when we were younger in Charm School."

"That was before the big test in 5th Grade..." Drell snorted with a blush. "Then you left me in the lurch."

"Heh..." Della giggled. "You always have an interesting memory... Hello there, children."

"Hi..." The group replied.

"Oh, my, you all look so exhausted..." Della cooed. "How about if Aunt Della lets you sit down on her big, comfy couch and she'll let you have some hot chocolate?"

"That sounds great!" Cherry said, about to run off.

"You know what? That would be wonderful, Miss Della," Lionel smiled. "Thank you so much!"

Drell narrowed his eyes to Della. "What are you up to?"

"Oh, nothing, I just wanna treat them for a little while," Della cooed, patting him a bit. "They all look like they could use a break in my little Pleasure Dome."

"They aren't yours to take!" Drell replied before seeing the group going with Della. "Come back here!"

"So what? You can work us to death?" asked Lionel. "From what I could tell, you don't even LIKE us! But when Miss Della comes around, all of a sudden you're singing a different tune!"

"I-I-I-" Drell stammered. "You guys!"

"You kids wait here, I'll be right back." Della smiled.

The group smiled at her as they felt happy for the first time in a while.

"We'll see you later... You might as well go now..." Della told Drell with a small smirk. "They're my guests."

"You... You can't _do_ this!" Drell replied. "I was officially appointed to be their mentor!"

"It's just for one day," Della told him. "Besides, they'll probably miss you tomorrow..."

"But you can't!" Drell cried out. "You're up to something, aren't you?! I know you, Della!"

"I'm sorry, but I must go," Della replied, going back to the others, magicking up some hot chocolate to give to them as promised. "I have some children to take care of. Goodbye, Drell."

Drell was silent as Della and the kids left. Skippy came up to Drell to pat him on the back.

"Draw me a bath..." Drell said, walking off.

Skippy shuddered a bit.

* * *

"Okay, kids, I'll be your Aunt Della for the time being," Della smiled. "You can do whatever you want."

"Can I take a nap?" Cherry asked.

"Naturally." Della smiled, giving her a pillow and a blanket.

"I think I'll watch cartoons for a little bit," replied Lionel. "At least until I get my energy back, of course!"

"Sure!" Della smiled. "You can all do whatever you want."

The group smiled all together out of excitement as they had some fun, eating some junk food, watching TV, napping, or reading books, basically, anything they wanted which felt refreshing and relaxing. All-in-all, it felt like the most fun they'd ever had.

* * *

Drell sighed a bit as he was alone right now, thinking about what Lionel had said about him.

 ** _'MAYBE YOU SHOULD ACT YOUR AGE, AND NOT YOUR SHOE SIZE!... IT DOESN'T MAKE YOU GREAT; IT MAKES YOU SEEM LIKE A SPOILED, PETULANT CHILD!'_** The boy's words rang in his head like bells of a clock tower.

Drell cupped his face a bit, removing his glasses as he seemed to end up crying a bit.

"Don't cry out loud... Just keep it inside... And learn how to hide your feelings~..." A female voice sang, showing Skippy taking out a music box and hanging it above his head to play some music for his old friend.

"I guess I needed the wake-up call..." Drell sighed.

Skippy smiled sheepishly to him.

"Skippy, be honest, do you think I'm mean?" Drell asked.

Skippy looked very scared about answering that question, so he just shrugged.

"What that Lionel kid said to me..." Drell said. "Really put things in perspective. So tell me honestly. Do you think I'm mean? Am I really just trying to take my rage out on those kids because I'm still not over Hilda?"

Skippy paused a bit before he let out an audible sigh before nodding in silence.

"So... I'm mean...?" Drell asked. "Not like I'm mean to you, right? You're my best friend!"

Skippy then took out a sketchpad, showing pictures of Drell hurting him in various ways such as striking him with lightning, flushing him down the toilet, pounding him on the head, and throwing him across the room like a rag doll.

"Okay, so I haven't exactly been a good friend..." Drell sighed. "...And for that, I'm sorry."

Skippy raised an eyebrow.

"I mean it... I'm sorry for all the pain and suffering... Friends...?" Drell asked, holding out his arms.

Skippy hesitated, though he soon walked up and began to hug Drell back.

"Aww... I love you too, buddy!" Drell smiled, giving Skippy a bit of a tight hug, though unintentionally crushed some of his bones.

Skippy smacked his hand on the ground repeatedly, as if he was tapping out.

"Oh! My bad, pal!" Drell chuckled, releasing Skippy. "Got a little carried away there..."

Skippy let out a small, pained groan, but smiled wearily as he knew that was an accident, giving a wobbly thumb's up.

* * *

Meanwhile, Della smiled as the group continued to have a lot of fun with her like they were in a paradise.

"This is the best!" Sabrina beamed. "I never wanna go home!"

"I've never been so happy in my life!" Lionel exclaimed. "Honestly, I'd be okay training under Miss Della!"

"Yeah, who needs that big giant pig?" Cherry smirked. "He can go choke on magic dust for all I care!"

Della seemed to hide a smirk to herself as the kids had fun.

"This is pretty fun!" Patch smiled before pushing a button to a machine that sent a tennis ball out and he then ran to catch it in his mouth.

"Without a doubt!" Atticus laughed as he was practicing with sparring dummies.

"That's right... Have fun... Have... Fun." Della told them as she left them alone in her Pleasure Dome.

"Weird way of saying that, but okay!" Lionel replied.

Della soon walked off as the kids continued to have fun in their own little paradise and they all relaxed for a change.

* * *

Eventually, the kids were all sprawled out on the ground.

"You ever wonder when Miss Della is going to begin training us?" asked Lionel.

"Eh, dunno, don't care," Cherry shrugged. "I'm just living it up while I can."

"Yeah, but we should probably get some work done... Even just a little?" Sabrina replied.

"She's right," said Mo. "We could easily goof off at home, but we're here for a reason."

"Okay, Mo," replied Atticus. "Let's go find Della and see when we'll actually start training."

Cherry looked over before sighing, dropping down with them. "I guess I'll go too..."

They soon walked off together to go and see Della who was making a big feast for all of them.

"Well... I gotta say, this _is_ very nice of you," exclaimed Lionel. "Though I'm a bit curious: when will our actual training begin?"

"Oh, very soon, maybe in a few days from now," Della smiled to them. "Right now, just relax and recuperate. You all must be exhausted..." she then cooed to them.

"A bit, yeah..." Mo admitted.

"Why don't you all go to the hot tub until the pizza and snacks get here?" Della suggested. "Just tune out all negative distractions... Think for yourselves... Be happy. Have some hot chocolate."

The group soon took some while Patch lapped up some water before they all began to look suddenly very tired.

"Whoa..." Lionel groaned. "I feel like I just competed in a race around the world... On foot..."

"I... I feel like... Like I... I... I..." Cherry stammered.

"Shh~..." Della cooed to them.

Suddenly, the group was all in one big bed and they all fell fast asleep.

"Sweet dreams~..." Della told them as she seemed to take out a goblet, filling it with some sort of substance that emit from their sleeping.

* * *

Eventually, the group regained consciousness.

"Is everyone unharmed?" asked Atticus.

"I'm still in one piece, how about everyone else?" asked Lionel.

"I'm fine." Sabrina said.

"Me too." Mo added.

"What about you, Spot?" Cherry asked.

"I feel fine..." Patch yawned and stretched. "We must've dozed off."

"I wonder why..." Lionel replied. "Eh, we may as well get up and find Della."

They soon wandered out together, a bit sleepily.

"All right, you had them for one day, they can come back now, right?" Drell demanded to Della.

"Hmm..." Della paused for a moment.

"Della!" Drell whined.

"Well, I don't know," replied Della. "I _will_ need to think about it."

The kids wandered out of the room, looking quite sleepy.

"Kids!" Drell called to them.

The group wandered out, looking to him.

"Oh, look at you!" Drell said to them. "You look wore out! I'm gonna have to get you back into shape at my gym. Come on, it's been 24 hours, you're coming back with me."

"Um... Uh... No..." Cherry said.

Drell stopped in his tracks before looking at her sharply. " _What_ did you say?!"

"Uh... I said... No?" Cherry replied.

"Yeah. All we did was wake up," Lionel replied, cracking his neck. "From a particularly nice nap, might I add!"

"Well, I gotta get you guys back in shape before you slack off." Drell replied.

"But... We don't wanna leave Della," Cherry said. "Can't we stay for one more day?"

The others agreed as they liked the sound of that.

Drell looked on in mild disbelief. "Oh... Fine..." he sighed dejectedly. "You can stay for a little longer. I need time to work on my apology anyway."

"Awesome!" Lionel and the others exclaimed.

"Somehow I feel like I'm gonna regret this." Drell grumbled as he soon left.

"Thanks for letting us stay longer, Miss Della." Cherry smiled.

"Please, dears..." Della smiled back. "You can call me 'Aunt Della'."

"Okay... Aunt Della." Lionel replied.

Della grinned to all of them as she continued to treat and spoil them, giving them their biggest hearts' desires.

* * *

Eventually, she did train them a bit, though due to the recent fun activities they had, they were running a little behind on their abilities.

"Funny..." said Lionel that day. "I can't help but feel as though my last spell lacked a bit of its regular 'oomph'..."

Mo let out a horrified gasp.

"...It's not that bad?" Lionel said to her.

"No!" Mo cried out, taking them to her personal garden, showing that the flowers have all wilted and died. "My beautiful flowers!"

"Oh, no!" Lionel gasped. "How could that have happened?! It's like our powers are diminishing!"

"What should we do?" asked Sabrina. "Maybe we should ask Della for help; she'll know what to do!"

"Great idea!" replied Atticus, as they set off to find Della.

"Aunt Della! Aunt Della!" The kids rushed off, running to find the witch.

"Where is she?" Patch frowned.

Della was soon lounging, having some chocolates as a fan automatically fanned her as the box of chocolates floated and she wore sunglasses, lying against a lawn chair.

"Aunt Della?! Oh, there you are." Cherry said, running over to her.

"Hi, kiddies." Della smiled innocently.

"Something's wrong with our powers!" Lionel exclaimed. "They're fading!"

"Oh, dear... I wonder why that's happening?" Della replied.

"We don't know, but we're scared!" Sabrina frowned. "Can we possibly lose our powers forever?"

"Oh... I'll be right back, you kids wait here," Della told them before running off, putting her robe on as she left the lawn chair. "Aunt Della will fix this."

They soon watched her leave as all they could do was wait.

* * *

"Okay, kids, I know you're annoyed with me, but... You were right..." Drell said as he strolled through the marketplace of the Netherworld as Della wandered there herself, but not for what she told the kids that she was going to. "I was being a big, giant baby, and I'm really sorry. If you come back to me, I promise, I'll make it up to ya," He then spotted Della out of the corner of his eye. "Huh. Wonder what she's doing here...?" he asked himself, as he decided to follow nearby, but not directly behind.

Della giggled to herself, sounding a bit evil once she was out of earshot of the group. "Oh, those poor young fools... I got them right where I want them..." she then smirked. "Little did they know, their weak younger powers have enough magic to fuel me, so I can become the greatest witch of all time. That'll stop old Drell dead in his tracks, and he'll learn to bow down to _me_!"

Drell gulped nervously. "Oh, no... I have to do something to stop her! On the bright side, I knew she was up to no good! On the other half, I gotta save the kids!" he exclaimed.

Della soon looked around. Drell then ducked down to hide behind a goblin, grabbing him and holding him out as protection.

"Hm..." Della shrugged that off as she walked off. "Now... For the right potion."

Drell saw that, then dropped the goblin as he rushed off to go see his soon to be ex-students. He soon arrived at the Pleasure Dome, where the kids were waiting for Della. "There they are..." he told himself, seeing the group sitting together, and soon busted in to go see them.

* * *

Cherry looked over, coming to one window, but then yelped as Drell was there, and he soon fell on her by accident.

"Oh... Sorry, Cherry." Drell said to the fallen girl.

"Why is it whenever we meet, I end up in pain?" Cherry muffled.

"Look, never mind that, I saw Della at the Netherworld Market," explained Drell. "And she was talking about some sort of evil plan. You know why your powers are weakening? It's because she's draining them to fuel her _own_!"

Lionel blinked. "Oh... I get it. It's a joke!" he chuckled. "That's a good one, Drell. Della would never do THAT to us!"

"What? Yes, she is!" Drell replied.

"I can't believe it... You're jealous!" Atticus told the warlock.

"Jealous?!" Drell glared.

"Yeah!" Atticus glared back. "We're having so much fun with Aunt Della and you're trying to take us back so we'll be stuck with you!"

"I am not jealous, you have to listen to me!" Drell told them. "She's trying to weaken all of you so she can take over the Netherworld!"

"Well, the whole reason you took us on as pupils was because you thought Enchantra was gonna choose Della to do it," replied Mo. "So we don't exactly have reason to trust you."

"Hell, we're not even students to you!" glared Lionel. "All we are for you is a means of proving that you're better than Della!"

"You guys-" Drell tried.

"Save it!" Patch glared. "You were just using us to make yourself look good!"

"But I-" Drell told them.

"We're never going back to you! Never _ever_!" Cherry soon snapped. "You're a loathsome, horrible, sadistic, mean-spirited, crude, pig-headed monster! All you ever care about is yourself, you never think about us! We're out of here!"

The others soon walked off as Cherry's words cut Drell deeply.

"Well... Fine then!" Drell then glared, though he sounded sad a bit. "With friends like you sad bunch of brats who needs-..." he then sighed softly as he seemed to have tears in his eyes. "Enemies?"

* * *

Lionel shook his head as he walked off with the group. "The nerve of that guy, honestly..." he muttered. "Trying to badmouth Aunt Della like that. I never said anything yet, guys, but I feel like Aunt Della is the first person I've ever felt some sort of familial connection with."

"Yeah!" The others agreed.

"He's just bitter and jealous that we like her better because she actually asks what _we_ wanna do and helps us out..." Atticus said before coughing. "Oh... 'Scuse me... Guess I have a tickle in my throat."

"Let's just hope that Aunt Della finds a way to help us out soon." Sabrina told the others.

"Right." The others agreed and they went to wait.


	3. Chapter 2: Displeasure Dome

Eventually, Della returned and the group excitedly rushed to see her. Drell watched as they soon went off.

"Aunt Della! Aunt Della!" The kids called out, running to her.

"Hi, kids, I'm so sorry I took so long." Della smiled to them.

"Did you manage to figure out what's behind us losing our powers?" asked Lionel desperately. "If you know, please tell us what we can do to stop it!"

"Oh, I'm so sorry, my dears~..." Della cooed. "It seems that you're falling behind a little on your studies with your breaks."

"Well, you let us take a break when we want and forever how long..." Cherry shrugged.

"Ah, yes... I believe that I am the cause of it... I'll make it up to you." Della replied.

Drell sniffled and he soon teleported to the Witch's Council to make a big announcement before he soon heading off to the Warlock's Retirement Home, but not to visit, to live in.

"Aw, come on, it can't be your fault, Aunt Della," Atticus smiled. "What could you have possibly done?"

"Oh... Someone's been draining you of your power source..." Della replied innocently before smirking. "While you were sleeping..."

Lionel pondered for a few seconds until it hit him. "It was... _you_?" he asked, his eyes widening. "B-But... _why_?"

"I'm sorry, kids, but I need to become Witch of the Year someway, even if it means draining you of your power source to come out on top of that chubbo, Drell," Della grinned wickedly. "I had it made... A witch... A Wiccan... A dream-bender... A being from another dimension... A dog interested in learning magic... And a nature-bender... You're all-powerful for your ages, even if one of you is half-mortal."

"N-No! Don't!" Cherry cried out. "We could die without our magic!"

"That's a risk I might have to take." Della smirked.

Lionel sniffled. "So... It was all a lie... An act to gain our trust..." he asked, as tears came from his eyes. "Was _any_ of it real...?"

"Oh, please... As if I could love any of you..." Della narrowed her eyes. "You punks were doomed from the start."

"And to think... We were so rude to Drell..." sighed Patch. "I guess we kinda deserve this..."

"Smart dog..." replied Lionel. "At least you guys will get a quick death, but since my power is so unpredictable... I'll have to watch you die AND I'll get to suffer twice as long... I just wish I could've apologized. If I'd known that was gonna be our last time seeing him..."

Della soon took out a jar to drain them more of their power.

"No... Please... Don't..." Sabrina begged.

More and more of their magic was being drained from them as they all began to look weak and nearly dying.

"Please... D-Drell..." Atticus wheezed. "We're... Sorry..."

Lionel began to grow paler and paler by the second as his hand went limp.

* * *

Drell sat on his new bed, bowing his head a bit, though something seemed to be telling him something that was almost like a paternal instinct. "Kids...?" he then muttered, looking around only seeing him alone in his new room. "Hm... That's weird... What is this strange sensation I'm feeling? They're not my kids, and yet... I feel like... Like they need help." He concentrated a bit more, getting a somewhat-clear mental picture of the situation. He could see the group of kids suffering while Della smirked evilly to them as she drained their powers. "That witch!" Drell snapped once he saw that, gripping his hands into fists as he breathed heavily like an overprotective father.

"Okay, sir, time for your... WHAT THE...?!" exclaimed an attendant who was wheeling a cart down the hallway. The force of Drell's power knocked him on his rear end, leaving him bewildered.

"I've got to go save my kids..." Drell said bravely before he soon ran off to go and get the kids, heading straight for the Pleasure Dome.

"Yes... Yes... Give me your magic..." Della smirked to the kids. "I'm going to put Lord Tirek to great shame of the land of Equestria."

"Aunt Della... Why...?" Cherry asked weakly.

"Because I wanted your power all along!" Della retorted. "And I had to get it somehow!"

"Guys...?" wheezed Lionel as he began to disintegrate. "I don't wanna go... I don't wanna go...!"

"Lionel... No!" Cherry cried out.

"Good, he's the first to go, he was the most tedious..." Della grinned maliciously. "Hopefully the Wiccan is next."

The kids began to cry as it seemed like they were going to die right now. Suddenly, a loud rumbling noise was heard from all around, making everyone look up in surprise. Drell soon came crashing down with a growl and a glare as he came onto the floor.

"Drell..." The kids weakly called.

"You came..." Della glowered at him. "Why did you come here?"

"You know very _well_ why I came," Drell growled. "To get my kids-... Er, students back."

"Oh, that's a laugh!" Della smirked. "As if you even really care about them."

"Let them go, Della!" Drell demanded. "I'll fight you to a magic duel if I have to!"

"Is that a challenge, Drelly-boy?" smirked Della.

"Maybe it _is_ ," Drell replied. "And don't call me that."

Della laughed. "Very well then..." she then stopped the magical extraction before Lionel could waste away from existence and soon set the kids into some bleachers before taking Drell to a battleground as her eyes seemed to flash crimson red. "I shall beat you like I should've in the election for Head of the Witch's Council."

Lionel groaned before seeing his body was gone from the waist down. "...Huh. Better than nothing..." he remarked. "...Yeah, I don't have a joke for this. Kick that bitch's butt, Drell!"

"Don't you mean witch?" asked Sabrina.

"I'm disintegrated from the waist down. I think I know what I said." Lionel replied.

"Wow, that's grody." Cherry winced from Lionel's appearance right now.

"Does that hurt?" Atticus asked Lionel.

"Surprisingly, not as much as you'd think," Lionel replied. "More like an itchy back, really."

The others looked to him before looking between the two magical adults. Drell soon magicked him up in a bit of a ninja garb as he took out his wand.

Della took out her own wand, putting herself in her own ninja garb. "We should make this more interesting..." she then smirked. "Loser leaves The Other Realm... FOREVER!"

Drell thought for a while. "Fine then, but if I win, you give the kids their power back before you LEAVE!" he exclaimed. "You'll be lucky if Enchantra decides to keep you around as her lackey!"

Della just smirked to him. "Oh, by the way, look out for that boulder." she then said.

"What?" Drell asked, glancing over only to get run over by a boulder.

"That one." Della smirked, using her wand to summon a boulder.

Drell picked himself up and reinflated himself. "Ooh, hardy-har-har," he remarked. "Quack-en-pokah!" he exclaimed, waving his wand and turning Della into... A duck.

"Why do I feel like this is oddly prophetic?" asked Lionel.

"Ya got me." Mo replied.

"You're driving me quackers!" Della snapped, flailing her feathers before picking up her wand. "'Curse you to back and Zorn, Turn you into your truest form'!"

The wand then zapped Drell, turning him into a donkey.

"Oh, hee-haw, how original..." Drell remarked before fumbling his wand in his new hooves, then holding it with his mouth and zapping Della again before an anvil hit her in the head.

The others winced as that was a bit excruciating to see.

"Give up, Della!" Drell growled to his rival. "All you care about is power and status! I have standards!"

"Shut up..." Della glared as she bent herself back into shape. "You have _nothing_ , and I've got everything! You should be jealous of me, as it's ALWAYS been!"

"Why, I oughta! I oughta! I oughta!" Drell began to snap before he soon changed back to normal in a new outfit with a mask hanging over his head like an executioner's mask and held a giant scepter with a cat's head on it.

"Whoa! Hold on! You wouldn't do that, would you?!" Della asked as that seemed to be a fate worse than death.

"Oh, I would!" Drell glared at her. "I will take 100 years from your life by doing it!"

"Is he gonna kill her?" Cherry asked.

"If he does, then good," Lionel replied. "Whatever punishment she gets is too good. I can't believe she tricked us... We trusted her, and she manipulated us _all_!"

"Drell... What are you doing...?" Atticus asked.

"It's the worst and most ultimate punishment for any witch or warlock," Drell glared as he faced Della. "To be turned into a non-magical, no thumb using, litter box attending, mouse chasing cat for 100 years."

Lionel couldn't help but snicker.

"Then what are you waiting for, Uncle?" replied Sabrina. "Give it to her!"

Drell looked touched that Sabrina called him "her uncle" before he then grinned darkly and soon hit Della with the special wand which soon made her mew and hiss like a cat before she flailed a bit and her clothes fell off in the middle of the floor before she peeked her head out, showing to be a white cat as she looked all around.

"And that's the end of _that_!" Drell smirked. "And now... I exile you from the Other Realm; FOREVER!"

"Nooooo!" Della cried out as she soon disappeared.

Drell nodded firmly, he then took his wand back out, then hit the kids to restore their magical abilities and strength to cure them. The kids regained their normal skin tones, and Lionel got his lower torso back.

"GREAT!" Lionel exclaimed. "Now that I have myself back together, I can do this!" And so he walked over to Drell... And hugged him. "We're sorry we left you, we shouldn't have listened to Della, we're _really_ sorry, and we'd be happy being your students again!" he sobbed.

"Mm-hmm..." Drell replied, giving them a bit of a firm look as he tapped his foot.

"We're really sorry..." Sabrina bowed her head. "I guess we were being a bit selfish."

"And... I guess I had been overworking you guys a bit..." Drell then said.

"Look... We were ALL at fault for this," Atticus replied. "And what we're trying to say is... We're all sorry about what we did. It was dumb of us to trust Della. We should've known you were right from the beginning."

"Mm-hmm..." Drell replied.

The group fell to his feet, begging for forgiveness.

"Please don't retire... We'll do anything..." Atticus said.

"That won't be necessary..." Drell said before helping them up to their feet. "I think you all could use a little break... From me anyway."

The group looked at each other in surprise.

"R-Really?" asked Sabrina curiously.

"Yeah..." Drell replied. "I guess I have been working you guys to death... How about we cancel contact with each other for about... Two weeks? Then I'll come back to see you?"

The group looked at each other.

"Sound good? Good... I'll see you then." Drell then said, about to send them back home.

"And one more thing," Lionel spoke up. "...We're glad to have you back, sir."

Drell gave a small smile before he took out his wand to send them all back home.

* * *

And so, they were finally back home, and collapsed into their beds after a very tiring and long experience together.

"Wow... _That_ was a rough experience..." Sabrina wheezed.

"You're telling _me_ ," replied Cherry. "We almost died, AND we find out Drell actually cares about us. Talk about _wild_!"

"We should probably get some sleep," Atticus suggested. "I feel like we haven't slept since the day before we met Drell."

"Something tells me that I'll hear from him before you guys do." Sabrina replied since her aunt had an old fling with the warlock.

* * *

Eventually, they all went to get some sleep which seemed to last through the weekend. With Drell gone for a while, they had more time for TV shows, homework, hanging out, and having their old lives back, but it seemed though, during their break from him, their lives seemed... Normal and a bit boring. During their time off, they befriended a few other kids: two boys named Harvey Kinkle and Perry "Pi" McDonald, and two girls named Chloe Flan and Maritza Brinkley. Sabrina smiled bashfully around Harvey as she had developed a crush on him, the others could tell, except for maybe Harvey himself. Pi seemed like a very interesting and unique boy, if you know what I mean, as he seemed to live in his own little world. Maritza was very friendly and sweet, though a little sensitive, and Chloe had an adventurous and sneaky feel to her, but was still a good friend.

"These long school days, man." Cherry commented as she took her lunch tray, going to sit with the others after they got out of the line in school.

"No kidding," replied Lionel. "It's ridiculous how much work in general, let alone homework, they can give a person!"

"Cha!" Pi replied with his own agreement. "I feel like that all teachers are secretly aliens who are planning on rotting our brains to the core until they leak out of our ears to go in their special test tubes so they can enslave us all on their home planet once we're all brain dead like test-taking and homework doing zombies."

Lionel blinked. "A little... Far-fetched, but I'd say you're in the ballpark." he replied.

The group soon sat down to have their lunch together at one table.

"Well, it makes school more interesting if you think about it like that." Harvey shrugged as he sat on one end with the boys while the girls sat on the other side of the table.

"Pi... What goes on in that head of yours?" Cherry asked.

"Not much," Pi replied. "I don't want my brain taken away by alien overlords like in that movie with the Extra-Terrestrial."

Atticus and Mo just shrugged at that as they ate their lunches. They and the rest of their little group had stopped trying to figure Pi out a long time ago; it resulted in less headaches. They soon tuned it out by eating some food.

"Ugh... If this is a hamburger, I think I'm going vegetarian." Mo groaned as she ate her burger.

"Eh, it's fine... Just needs a bunch of ketchup." Chloe suggested.

"Yeah, and a total molecular reformatting..." Lionel added before seeing local rich girl Gemini "Gem" Stone enter the lunchroom. "And here I thought the cafeteria food was the only thing here that could sicken me..."

A couple of other girls came out beside Gem, leaving rose petals for her on the floor.

"Ah... The afternoon nourishment that is lunchtime..." Gem smiled. "Let's see what Mumsy and Daddums have packed me for lunch."

"Mumsy and Daddums..." Cherry muttered. "Excuse me, I think I just choked on a Care Bear."

Gem soon sat down at a table which was soon given a tablecloth, some candles for lighting, and a man appeared to play the violin while her butler appeared to give her a fresh lobster with some butter and caviar with a glass of grape soda.

"We _get_ it, you're rich!" Lionel snapped. "Could you _be_ any more obvious about it?!"

"Oh, there's no need to be jealous," Gem smirked. "Maybe someday you'll be as successful and amazing as myself, but... Probably not. Hiii, Harvey~"

"Oh, hi, Gem." Harvey replied.

"You know, I have room for one more person at my table," Gem smirked. "Maybe you'd like to join me?"

"Hmm... No thanks," replied Harvey. "I'm good here."

"Oh... Suit yourself... How noble of you to keep the peasants company..." Gem cooed.

Cherry just rolled her eyes and shook her head.

"Gosh... That food looks so good..." Maritza bit her lip a bit.

Lionel rolled his eyes. "If nobody was looking, I could zap up something tasty..." he remarked.

"Yeah..." Cherry and Atticus replied.

Mo kept trying to eat her burger as she seemed to look sick while eating it.

"Any after school plans?" Maritza asked the others.

"I might go to the Mall." Sabrina replied.

"That could be fun." Lionel shrugged, zapping Mo's "burger" into a salad.

Mo blinked from that before she soon ate the salad with a beam and ate it up happily. "I love this!"

"You're welcome." Lionel smiled back to her.

"I guess we could hang out at the mall," Cherry shrugged. "It'll give us something new and exciting to do."

"Sure, why not?" replied Chloe. "That's one way to kill time."

"Then it's settled... We'll meet up in front of the school at 3:00 and go to the Mall." Atticus said.

"Uh-huh!" The rest of the group agreed.

They soon continued to eat their lunch which was made a bit better thanks to the help of Lionel's special magic.


	4. Chapter 3: Xabrina: Warrior Witch Part 1

Eventually, the rest of the school day passed swiftly, and as planned, the group met up in front of the school after they were dismissed for the rest of the day.

"Like I said... Long school days..." Cherry said.

"Tell me about it." Chloe had to agree.

"Come on, let's just get to the city bus to get to the Mall," Sabrina smiled. "Time for some real fun."

"Now that's a plan!" Harvey replied.

And so they climbed onboard a local bus which was headed to the mall.

"Sometimes I wish we could take phones with us..." Cherry said. "Then our parents wouldn't freak out if we came home like a minute late or something."

"Heh, that would be something." Atticus replied.

"Maybe someday." Lionel remarked.

"Phones that go with you when you travel?" Maritza asked.

"Yeah, why not?" Cherry shrugged. "It'd probably make life a lot easier."

Chloe shrugged. "A little outlandish, but it could probably work." she replied as the bus continued driving through town.

"Ah, Cherry, you and your ideas." Mo commented.

"I try." Cherry replied innocently.

* * *

Eventually, the bus arrived at the Greendale Mall. Once there, the passengers got out of the bus and came into the Mall.

"Anyone gonna shop?" Chloe asked. "I know I could use a new jacket."

"I might hit the games with the guys honestly." Cherry shrugged.

"Sounds good to me," agreed Mo. "Let's go for it!"

The groups then split up to either go clothes shopping or to play some games in the arcade. At the arcade, Harvey apparently had a reputation for beating most of, if not all of, the games.

"So, you think you're one of the best, huh?" Atticus smirked.

"Not one of the best, Atticus, the definite best." Harvey smirked back.

Lionel did a double-take. "No kidding... You are racking up those points like CRAZY!" he exclaimed.

"Well, I am a pretty great game master," Harvey smirked. "That's me! Harvey Kinkle: The Game Master."

"Who are you now, Captain N?" Cherry smirked back.

"Different guy." Mo replied as other people began watching Harvey play hard and win harder.

Everyone else began to watch while Harvey showed off his video gaming skills.

"Look at him go!" Atticus gasped with astonishment.

"No denying it; the boy's got game!" Chloe added as Harvey beat the game.

"They're probably gonna put his name on the bathroom wall." Pi commented.

"That must be a big deal." Maritza replied.

"Totally is," Pi chuckled to her. "It's like the biggest honor any kid could ever get in a public place like this."

"Because nothing says honor like having your name in a bathroom!" Lionel exclaimed with a hint of mild sarcasm.

"Oh, totally," Cherry smirked a bit. "I got my name on my bedroom door at home. I must be Queen of the Castle."

"Or just of the room," Lionel shrugged. "Either way, it's valid!"

* * *

It seemed to be a fun afternoon for all of the friends. Drell seemed to watch this on his crystal ball while multitasking on his council duties while filling out some papers before he would check other places which would then begin a brand new adventure, such as getting news from his Oracle who would tell him some news, then he would tell the adventure group of what they would need to do for him.

"Anyways, let's get something to eat afterwards," Lionel suggested. "This gaming stuff is giving me an appetite!"

"Yeah, I could go for some pizza..." Cherry said.

"Pizza's always great." Harvey agreed.

"As long as mine's a bit veggie." Mo said.

"Man, that school burger messed you up, huh?" Atticus asked.

"I think I just became a vegetarian." Mo replied.

"Starting tomorrow, we're bringing our OWN lunches from home!" Atticus decided and none of the group disagreed on that.

"I think I'll make a vegetable garden." Mo smiled thoughtfully.

The group soon went to sit down to have some pizza after playing games and shopping for a while.

* * *

As they ate, they were approached by an employee from the arcade and a rather portly man in a business suit.

"Harvey, right?" The employee asked. "This is Charles MBA. He's an executive at Vicious Videos, the company that made the game you recently beat."

"What's going on?" Atticus asked.

"Charles MBA, an executive from Vicious Videos is over here, pay attention." Cherry stated dryly.

Atticus rolled his eyes a bit from that.

"Hello, Harvey; I hear you're one of the best players in town," The man said in a creepy voice, blowing his nose a bit before holding out his hanky to the brown-haired boy. "I have a business proposition for a boy with talent such as yours."

* * *

Later, the group had finished their food and were now at Harvey's house.

"Harvey, this is just so cool!" Chloe exclaimed.

"Just imagine, your very own arcade game!" Sabrina added.

"Harvey doesn't own it," explained Mr. MBA as his assistant hooked up the game in Harvey's basement. "We're simply lending it to him for a week. It's a prototype of our newest game: _Mazes, Myths, & Monsters_."

"Whoa!" Lionel exclaimed. "Major Greek-age!"

"We want Harvey to thoroughly test it, and use his expert opinion." Mr. MBA then added.

"Radical." Cherry laughed a bit.

"It won't take a week; Harvey will beat that thing in a day!" Sabrina smiled.

"Or less." Harvey smiled back.

"Perhaps not," Mr. MBA told them. "This is no ordinary game; I think it's..." he then breathed a bit before he then let out a heavy sneeze. "ACHOO! Do you girls use perfume, hairspray, deodorant, nail polish, or shampoo?"

"Well, yeah, we don't wanna stink." Cherry replied.

Mr. MBA snorted. "Nothing sets off my sinuses worse than ladies' cosmetics." he explained, blowing his nose.

Harvey turned to the others. "I think you guys better split before he blows his nose." he suggested.

"Fine by me," replied Lionel. "Mr. Mucus was grossing me out anyway."

And on that, he and the others exited Harvey's basement.

"So, what makes this game special?" Harvey asked the man.

"It's because... Because... Of... Tell him, Dale!" Mr. MBA told his personal assistant as he grunted a bit.

"It's the latest in cutting edge virtual reality technology," The assistant told Harvey, plugging in a Roman helmet that was also the virtual reality helmet. "You wear this headset, the more the game becomes more real, and real-life! I should know, I designed it, but I should warn you. Prolonged exposure--"

"Now, Dale, don't dissuade the boy," advised Mr. MBA. "I want his untainted opinion."

"But sir... What about the flaw?" asked Dale, whispering.

"There _are_ no flaws!" exclaimed the man. "Just a few... Small glitches. Now start the game!" He popped the helmet on Harvey.

Harvey smiled out of excitement. "Whoa!"

* * *

And so, began a brand new experience for Harvey while the others would have to hear about it later in school.

"It's totally AWESOME!" Harvey exclaimed as Sabrina and the others were at their lockers.

"So you've told us about a dozen times," replied Lionel.

"But isn't like any other game!" Harvey beamed. "It's set in Ancient Greece! Gods, monsters, and it's all so real! This must be what it's like to be He-Man! It's like... Like..."

"Totally awesome so you've said," Sabrina replied as she shut her locker door. "Come on, let's get to class."

Harvey seemed to stay still until Sabrina pulled him over.

* * *

Later that day, the group came home to see Hilda, Zelda, Uncle Quigley, and Salem playing Scrabble. Uncle Quigley was Sabrina's uncle on her mother's side of the family who decided to come by to make sure that Hilda and Zelda wouldn't abuse their magic, even though they reassured that they would be responsible and it was Enchantra's job to worry about that and not him, especially since he was a mortal. He mostly cleaned the house and cooked meals for the family, acting as a father figure to Sabrina due to her parental circumstances. 

"10 letters with three Z's, that's gotta be worth about a jillion points." Salem smirked smugly.

"What kind of word is 'Zortzblatz'?" asked Uncle Quigley, before his head turned into a donkey head.

"A magic one," replied Hilda. "You shouldn't have said it out loud!"

"We're home!" announced Sabrina as she and the others came inside.

"We're here too!" The friends added as they came to join Sabrina.

"Hey, you guys," Zelda smiled. "Pull up some chairs and join the game."

"Thanks, but we have to call Harvey," Sabrina replied. "He went home early yesterday and today he didn't even come to school at all."

"Hey, Quigley, you look different, you get a new haircut?" Cherry asked cockily.

Chloe leaned over the table. "Zortzblatz?" she read, and her head turned into a donkey head as well. 

Sabrina couldn't help but giggle at this.

Chloe sighed. "I hate comin' over here..." she remarked.

* * *

They soon went to try to call Harvey, but they didn't get an answer.

"Nothing?" Cherry asked, looking into a magazine.

"I think we might need to try the direct approach." Sabrina replied after hanging up, getting sick of getting the answering machine.

"Alrighty then... Looks like it's back to the Kinkle house." Lionel replied.

"Can one of you fix this?" Chloe asked about her donkey head.

"I'll get it." Atticus said as he soon used his magic to fix Chloe's situation.

"Thanks." Chloe then said in relief.

Cherry snickered a bit from behind her magazine.

* * *

Later, at Harvey's house, Sabrina rang the doorbell, but nobody answered.

"Told you guys Harvey wasn't home," replied Chloe. "That's why he didn't answer the phone; he's probably out with his folks."

"Nah, they're both at work," replied Maritza. "Not to mention his bike is still here!"

"Guys, I'm worried," Sabrina frowned. "We gotta go in and see if he's okay."

"How?" Mo asked.

"We're going in." Sabrina said before using magic to teleport them into the Kinkle household.

They then appeared in the basement, finding Harvey hooked into his game.

"Told you he was here." Sabrina smiled to the others.

"Hi, Harvey. The front door was open, so we let ourselves in," said Maritza.

Harvey seemed to be mumbling like a zombie as he kept playing the game.

"Yoo-hoo, you have company!" Mo called, knocking on the helmet, but Harvey kept on playing.

"He must _really_ be into it." said Chloe.

"We gotta get him away from that machine." replied Atticus, as they tried to pull Harvey away, but to no avail.

Harvey grunted as he soon went back to playing as Atticus fell.

"How did he overpower me?!" Atticus complained.

"I don't know, but Harvey's starting to freak me out, he sounds like he stepped out of a Thriller Night." Cherry replied.

"It's like that game has him hypnotized!" Sabrina exclaimed.

"I know," suggested Chloe. "Let's just pull the plug!"

Mo poked her head around the side. "Good luck doing that without a plug to pull." she replied.

"And there's no off switch!" Maritza noticed.

"Now what do we do?!" Atticus asked.

"Let's call that MBA guy," Sabrina suggested. "He'll know what to do."

And so they tried just that.

"Vicious Videos, Charles MBA's office," said a secretary. "How may I help you?"

"I've gotta talk to Mr. MBA," replied Sabrina. "My friend's playing one of his games, and he can't stop!"

"Mr. MBA isn't in right now," replied the secretary. "Perhaps you could try tomorrow, or the next day, or next week." and then she hung up.

"Talk about your dead ends..." Lionel muttered.

"Now what?" Cherry asked. "That was a bust."

"Call a doctor! No, a psychiatrist!" Chloe suggested. "An electrician? Who can you call with this kind of problem?"

"Maybe from someone not in _this_ realm." Atticus hinted.

And so they tried that.

 ** _"Hallo, you're on the All-Witch Radio Network vith the Wise Warlock!"_ **said a man in a Yiddish accent. **_"So, caller, vhat's your problem?"_**

"Wise Warlock? This is Sabrina." said Sabrina.

 ** _"Hallo dere, ya little cutie-pie!"_** The warlock replied. **_"Don't tell me: your problem is your friend's hooked up to an experimental videogame and is acting all zombie-and-creepy-like!"_**

Sabrina was dumbfounded. "That's right..." she replied. "How'd you know?"

 ** _"What can I say? I'm good with exposition."_ **replied the Wise Warlock.

Cherry gave a glance to the fourth wall before looking back.

 ** _"Now, listen carefully,"_ **The wise warlock advised the young witch. **_"Your friend's essence is trapped inside the video game. The only vay to get him back is to go into the game, and rescue him."_**

"Me?" Sabrina asked. "You want me to go _into_ a video game?"

 ** _"Vhat, am I talking to myself?"_** The wise warlock replied. **_"Yes, you! But be careful, Sabrina... This is serious stuff! Next caller?"_**

 ** _"Can I request a special song to be played at 7:00 PM later tonight?"_** A familiar voice requested as Sabrina hung up, but that would be told about later.

"I've gotta go inside the game." Sabrina then told her friends.

"We're coming with you." Atticus said.

Sabrina waved her finger in the air and beamed them all inside of the game.

"No! Wait!" Cherry cried out, but it was too late.

"Someone's gotta rescue Harvey, Cherry," Atticus reminded her. "He's our friend."

Cherry sighed a bit. "You're right."


	5. Chapter 4: Xabrina: Warrior Witch Part 2

They soon landed in the middle of Ancient Greece with new clothes as they landed in a bush.

"Wow... Is this the game?" asked Chloe, standing up. "And what kinda retro-look is this?"

"Dunno," shrugged Lionel, popping up dressed like Orko. "I think it looks neat on ya!"

"You're lucky," Sabrina said, looking over her new outfit. "This little ensemble's all leather!"

"Check out this place..." Atticus beamed. "It's so--"

"Don't say it," Sabrina groaned. "Totally awesome."

"Greetings, players," said a familiar voice, making the group turn around. It was Zelda, except dressed in Greco-Roman armor, holding a spear. "And welcome to _Myths, Monsters, & Mayhem_. All characters, names, and incidents contained herein are copyrighted by _Vicious Videos, Incorporated_."

"Aunt Zelda?" asked Sabrina.

"No, but I appear to be." replied Zelda's look-alike. "Thanks to an exclusive patented feature, all the characters in this game will look like people you know!"

Lionel shrugged. "Works for me." he replied.

"I am Athena: Goddess of Wisdom!" The look-alike proclaimed.

"That's fitting." Cherry replied as Zelda was the smarter one between her and Hilda.

"Your guide to this game." The being continued.

"Okay, Athena, and just who are we supposed to be in these get-ups?" Sabrina asked, playing along.

"You are Xabrina: Warrior Princess!" The being told her.

"Xabrina." Cherry laughed at the name.

"And you are her trusty sidekick, Scabriella." The being added to Chloe.

"Sounds like an insult..." Lionel noted.

Cherry snickered to Chloe's new name.

"And you shall be Kerási." The being then told Cherry.

"...Eh, okay." Cherry shrugged.

"What about the rest of us?" asked Mo.

"And the rest of you are Maia, Apollo, Maeve, and Lynceus." The being informed Mo, Atticus, Maritza, and Lionel.

"Hmm... Not bad..." Atticus smiled about being known as Apollo.

"Anyway, we're all here to find another player." Cherry told the being.

"The only way to find someone would be to play the game and catch up with him." Athena explained.

"If play we must... Then play we shall!" Lionel exclaimed.

"So how do we play the game?" asked Maritza.

"The goal is to reach the Black Citadel and capture the treasure within: the fabulous Golden MacGuffin!" explained the guide. "The citadel lies at the end of this path. Along the way, you will encounter challenges, but fear not, you will be armed!" And she blew a bit of energy into their hands, granting them weapons.

Atticus and Sabrina seemed to have swords, Chloe and Maritza had staffs, and Mo, Cherry, and Lionel were given bows and arrows.

"Don't look now, but I think we're bad girls." Chloe said to Sabrina.

"You'll also need this," Athena said, showing them a book. "It's all the game's rules and regulations. Refer to it if you're ever in trouble."

Cherry took the book before falling to the ground with it. "It's so heavy!" she then groaned.

"Here, use this, it's a magical holding bag." Athena said, bringing out a bag.

"Thanks, Athena!" Cherry glared cynically.

Lionel and Atticus lifted the book out of Cherry's hands, and put it into the bag.

"There!" said Athena as she began to float off. "Packed and ready to go! Good luck, and thanks for playing Monsters, Myths and Mayhem! And remember, if you get in trouble, just use the book!"

* * *

And so, the plucky team took off on their quest to find Harvey.

"I wonder what Zelda... Uh, Athena, meant by challenges?" Chloe commented.

"I'm not sure, but I'm sure it's nothing our magic can't handle," Sabrina smiled. "Besides, if it gets too bad, I can zap us out of the game."

"I don't think it'll be that easy." Maritza said.

A bar soon came down in front of them to stop them from going any further.

"Hey! We're trying to pass here!" Atticus complained.

They soon heard a roar before it turned into hacking, showing Salem as he appeared to be a griffin. "That thing's worse than a hairball mixed with pin feathers!" he then groaned before flying out and appearing in front of the group.

"Salem?" Atticus blinked.

"I ask the questions around _here_!" replied Salem's look-alike. "I'm the Sphinx. I ask riddles, and you gotta answer."

Sabrina and the others looked at each other.

"So tell me," said the Sphinx. "What animal has four feet in the morning, two at noon, and three at night?"

"Oh! Oh!" exclaimed Chloe. "I know! I read about that! It's man! He crawls on all fours as a baby, walks on two feet as an adult, and uses a cane when he's elderly!"

"WRONG-O!" said the Sphinx. "It's a nine-legged psycho-paupus!"

And on that note, a gigantic spider-like creature leapt out and roared loudly.

"Stand back," said Sabrina. "I'll zap that cootie into an eggplant!" But when she tried to zap it, her magic just fizzled out.

"Sabrina, make with the magic!" Chloe exclaimed as the paupus stomped about wildly.

"I can't...!" Sabrina replied. "My witch magic doesn't work in here!"

"Then we... Might be in trouble." Mo gulped as the beast lunged at them.

"I'm gonna die getting eaten by a giant spider... Life is good!" Cherry groaned sarcastically.

They all soon an away as the paupus began to chase after them.

Cherry went to hide behind a shrub before looking out as it changed into a screaming woman and soon all of the other shrubs did the same thing, screaming like Banshees. "I guess those were the Muses..." she then shrugged to herself before tiptoeing away.

Atticus soon came out of the bushes, grabbed Cherry, and fell backwards with her, covering her mouth so the paupus wouldn't see or hear them.

"Are you _sure_ you can't zap it?" asked Chloe, as she and Sabrina were now in a tree.

"My witch powers don't work in here," replied Sabrina. "I can't even zap us home!"

"So then we'll have to play the game to the end," added Lionel. "Or be stuck here forever!"

"Then we really _are_ in trouble!" Chloe exclaimed.

"Wait a minute..." Atticus said as he soon had an idea. "What did Zelda... I mean, Athena say?"

"Remember, if you get into trouble, use the book." Cherry imitated the woman's voice.

The paupus jumped, nearly snapping at them, but luckily missed as they all yelped.

"Maybe there's a solution in here!" Atticus said, bringing out the book.

"Look under 'Pest Control'." Chloe suggested.

Sabrina flipped through the book before dropping it and letting it squash the big bug flat.

"That works." Cherry shrugged.

* * *

They soon came back to see the Sphinx.

"Well, I hope you kids are happy," The Sphinx said before removing the bar to let them continue their quest. "That psycho paupus will be in one foul mood when he wakes up."

"Hey! We beat your monster and we did it by the book!" Chloe defended.

"Well, aren't you special?" The Sphinx crossed his arms before turning away. "Alright, the rules say I'm supposed to give you something for winning. Here! The Legendary Singing Shield!" he then brought out a golden shield for them.

"Um, thanks," Cherry said as she took it. "Why is it called 'The Singing Shield'?"

"Well, since you asked," Sphinx replied, plugging his ears. "And a 1, and a 2, and a..."

The shield began singing the song "Funiculi, Funicula" (more commonly known as the pizza song from the _Spider-Man 2_ video game nowadays).

"Question asked, question answered." Lionel replied.

The Sphinx waved them off as they soon walked on to continue their quest while Cherry looked tortured from the singing shield. Mo soon shoved Chloe's staff into the shield's mouth to shut it up, then put it into the bag, relieving them all from the song.

"Look! Over there!" Maritza pointed out. "I think I found Harvey!"

"Then let's go get him!" Lionel replied as they ran ahead, only to get sent down a long stone slide and land at the bottom.

The group got up and brushed themselves off.

* * *

"Good vile Earth! Teeny decorators!" A voice called out as a clamshell opened up to show a new/familiar face.

"Hilda?!" Cherry asked.

"Wrong! I am Aphrodite!" The being replied, taking out a flower and putting it in her hair as she approached them. "Goddess of Beauty and you all are trespassing on _my_ secret temple!"

"Erm... We didn't have much of a choice." Maritza replied.

"For we are on a mission of the utmost importance!" Lionel added.

"Regardless, you've all trespassed on my sacred ground," Aphrodite replied. "Such sacrilege really ticks me off!"

Sabrina drew her sword. "Keep away, or I'll... Do whatever you do with this thing!" she exclaimed.

"It's a sword," Lionel replied. "You slice or stab. Not that hard to figure out."

"Puh-lease... _Me_? _Fight_?" Aphrodite smirked. "I might break a nail."

"Classy." Mo rolled her eyes.

"You don't happen to have a big, strong, bully boyfriend that we have to fight, do you?" Cherry asked nervously while sweating profusely since this goddess resembled Hilda.

"You mean that jerk, Zeus? Of course not!" Aphrodite replied. "Even if he HAS been bugging me for weeks on end... But I digress; not only are you all breaking rules of entry, you're also breaking fashion rules. And since you seem so into leather; I'll turn you all into COWS!" she took out a purple energy ball and began spinning it.

Sabrina and the others yelped and ran for it. The energy ball soon flew in the air, hitting a rock which turned it into a living cow.

"Cut it out!" Cherry cried out as Aphrodite threw more energy balls.

Sabrina narrowly ducked as a cherub statue was then hit next and turned into a cupid cow. The group then hid behind Aphrodite's shell podium and it turned into a cow before running away from them.

"Think Merecrop can protect you?" Aphrodite mocked. "I'd laugh, but it causes wrinkles."

"Someone get the shield!" Mo suggested.

Maritza pulled it out and Aphrodite gasped.

"How lovely I am!" The goddess exclaimed, marveling at her reflection.

"I figured the only force powerful enough to stop her was her own vanity," explained Sabrina. "Now circle behind her."

"Does this frock make my hips look big?" asked Aphrodite. "Be brutal!"

But Chloe leapt on her, pinning her arms to the sides.

"Surrender!" Maritza announced. "Or... We'll muss up your hair!"

"Okay, okay; there's no reason to turn ugly here," said Aphrodite. "I give up."

"Heh. That was easy." Mo chuckled.

"Well?" Cherry asked.

"Well what?" Aphrodite replied.

"You're supposed to give us something." Cherry told her.

"It's always about you, isn't it?" Aphrodite rolled her eyes before bringing out what looked like a special box. "Here you are, your very own sample kit of Aphrodite's Beauty Aids; there's lip gloss, nail polish, perfume, even some dental floss."

"Just put it in the bag." Sabrina said, taking out the small bag.

Aphrodite soon did that and yelped as she got hit by a thunderbolt as they left.

"Yoo-hoo!" said Zeus, who looked just like Drell. "Aphrodite~ over he-ere!"

"Oh, great... Him..." Aphrodite groaned in annoyance.

* * *

The others soon came across a marble sign which said "THIS WAY TO THE LABYRINTH".

"Labyrinth, huh?" Atticus remarked.

"Legends say you can get lost in there forever." Cherry educated.

"Got it. We should probably leave some sort of trail behind to make sure we can get out." Maritza suggested.

Harvey was soon shown.

"Harvey! He's here!" Atticus called out.

They all soon rushed to the mortal boy.

"Harvey, we've been looking everywhere for you." Cherry told Harvey.

"Harvey? I recognize not that name!" Harvey glared. "I am Spartacles: Warrior Supreme!"

"Great," Lionel sighed. "He's been in here _so_ long that he thinks he's one of the characters in the game!"

"Hey! You over there!" A voice called out, showing a man beside a giant wooden horse known as The Trojan Horse. "You guys know the way to Troy?"

"Uh..." Cherry drawled out as she looked a little stumped. "Go pass Athena and turn left?"

"Oh, thanks." The man said before pushing the horse away.

"Well, that was random," Mo replied. "Wait, where's Harvey?"

"Uh-oh... He must've gone into the labyrinth!" exclaimed Sabrina.

"Let's go!" Atticus said, running in.

"WAIT!" Cherry said, rushing over and blocking him from going any further. "Fudo, we can't go in there!"

"'Watch for crossing Minotaurs'?" Atticus read a sign up above aloud. "Well, I'm not afraid of a Minotaur, we have to get Harvey!"

"We'll get lost for _sure_!" Chloe replied.

"Maybe not," said Sabrina. "Where's that beauty kit? I've got an idea!"

"Uh-oh." Cherry and Atticus mumbled.

The shield soon began to sing during their travel through the maze which would get them lost for sure, using some dental floss so that they wouldn't get lost.

"I'd rather get eaten by a monster than to hear that again." Chloe said as she shut the shield up.

"I'm beginning to think we'll never find Harvey again," Maritza said. "But at least we haven't seen any monsters."

Cherry soon went to turn the other way since that was always a cue for fate to slap them in the face.

Then, they heard a roar! It was the Minotaur... Who looked like Quigley. "You brutes!" he wheezed. "You almost gave me a heart attack!"

"But aren't you the Minotaur?" Chloe asked.

"Yeah, don't you catch people and eat them?" Mo added.

"Usually... But I've been lost in here for weeks," The Minotaur replied. "I'm tired, and hungry, and need a fatty snack!"

"Yeah, but first, have you see, um, 'Spartacles'?" Atticus asked.

"Sure, I gave him my golden key, and he took it and ran!" The Minotaur stated. "And a map... I don't suppose you guys have one?"

"Nope," Lionel replied. "But we have been leaving a trail of this dental floss we got from Aphrodite. Good thing we got the jumbo roll."

"Yeah, we just gotta follow it back to the entrance." Sabrina added with a smile.

* * *

They soon made it out before the Minotaur and the shield soon both sang "For He's a Jolly Good Fellow" which annoyed everyone worse than when the shield would sing alone.

"If we can survive that, we can survive anything." Chloe told the others.

"Then we got plenty of endurance." Lionel replied.

The minotaur took one of his horns off and gave it to him. "And for getting me out, take this. It's not much, but it's all I've got left." he explained.

"Uh, thanks... I guess..." Sabrina smiled politely as she accepted the horn.

"Goodbye, don't be strangers!" The Minotaur smiled back and waved as they continued their quest. "Nice kids for warriors..." he then sang to himself as he accidentally went back into the labyrinth and soon got lost again. "Oh, no, I'm lost again. "Help, kids, ANYONE?!"

* * *

The group soon made it to the citadel at last.

"There's Harvey; he's entering the citadel!" Sabrina exclaimed.

The group ran inside just as the doors closed.

"Where _is_ he though?" asked Atticus, looking around.

"Great... Here we go again." sighed Mo.

They soon came into a higher floor with many doors before calling out for Harvey.

* * *

The group searched high and low as it seemed hopeless to find Harvey so far.

"This is the last room..." Cherry said before looking over to something golden. "Ooh. Shiny."

"The Golden MacGuffin!" Lionel exclaimed. "We won!"

"We came all this way for an _Egg_ McGuffin?" Cherry then asked. "So where's Harvey?"

They suddenly heard grunting from behind them, and saw Harvey chained to the wall and gagged in the mouth.

"Harv--... Erm... Spartacles, who did this to you?" Atticus asked.

"I believe that would be me," A dark voice said, showing a wizard version of Mr. MBA, who glared to them from where he stood. "Now the question is: how did you all get in here?"

"Mr. MBA?!" Sabrina asked.

"What a twist!" Cherry added.

"Why the surprise?" Mr. MBA smirked as he came toward them as they all glared, looking ready to attack him. "This is MY game. Of course I'm not really here, actually right now, I'm sitting at my desk, watching all this with a virtual reality headset, and I'm afraid you kids are in big trouble for trespassing in MY game!"

"Fat chance!" Lionel replied. "We're taking our amigo and busting outta your hokey game!"

"Your game is bogus and dangerous!" Mo then told Mr. MBA. "It's addictive or something."

"But that's the whole point!" Mr. MBA replied snidely as he took the gold. "It's designed to be addictive; to keep you little kiddies put in corners with my machines!"

"That is so stupid and mean!" Cherry complained.

"And exactly why we have to stop it!" Atticus replied. "Everyone, ready your weapons!"

Everyone soon did just that with glares towards Mr. MBA.

"I'm gonna call the police, the FBI, and Perry Mason!" Cherry snapped.

"Oh, I doubt that," Mr. MBA grinned to them. "You see, you're not getting out! In this game, I'm all-powerful!" he then snapped his fingers to bring out doubles of himself to surround them.

"Oh, that's freaky." Cherry groaned.

"But not surprising!" Lionel replied, readying his bow and arrows.

"Bring it on, Gand... Dork!" Cherry glared.

"Gand _Dork_?" Atticus repeated.

"Leave me alone, _Apollo_." Cherry rolled her eyes, saying his new name a bit with disgust.

"Face it, kids; I'm invincible!" exclaimed Mr. MBA.

"Oh, yeah?" Sabrina asked, cutting Harvey's bonds. "We can still... RUN!"

And they ran out of the citadel.

"I can't believe we got outta there alive..." Chloe exclaimed.

"This is unseemly!" said Harvey. "I am Spartacles! I fight!"

"Well, we _had_ to run for it!" Lionel replied. "Staying to fight would have been suicide!"

"I think he's gonna get a second chance though." Cherry said, seeing that they were surrounded.

The copies of Mr. MBA were then shown in front of them like an army.

"Foolish kids, you went against the order to get out of the game, you'll have to beat me!" Mr. MBA glared. " _ALL_ OF ME!"

"He might be all-powerful, but he still has allergies." Maritza noted from the hanky.

"And I think we might have something to use to our advantage from said allergies." Cherry soon smirked wisely.

"Load up those cosmetics into the horn!" Lionel replied. "I think we're on the precipice of an R.B.I!"

"An R.B.I?" Atticus asked.

"RBI: REALLY BRILLIANT IDEA!" Lionel explained triumphantly.

"Oh! Good one, I'm gonna have to remember that for later." Atticus smiled.

"Here, hold this." Lionel said, giving Harvey the horn.

"What good will a horn do?!" Harvey asked.

"Nothing yet until we fill it up with ladies cosmetics and put MBA to rest." Cherry smirked.

"Indeed!" Mo added. "So let's fill this horn of plenty!"

Sabrina soon took out Aphrodite's make-up kit and they filled the horn as the MBA swarm began to charge.

"There's nothing you can do to stop me!" The MBA doubles glared as they stomped over. "I'm invincible!"

"Well, we're not invincible, but we do have a horn full of smelly, girly stuff, and this is what we have to say about you and your game!" Sabrina glared before taking a deep breath and blowing into the horn to spray out the girly cosmetics against the MBA doubles.

And at that, the doubles snorted and began to sneeze.

Lionel opened the bag of holding. "Everyone inside. NOW!" he exclaimed, hopping inside. "Unless you feel like getting snot-blasted!"

"Get in? But I won't fit!" Spartacles replied.

"JUST DO IT!" Lionel urged.

Everyone soon went inside of the bag and luckily, they all fit inside as the MBA wizards began to have sneeze attacks due to their allergies before sneezing so hard that it blew the bag away, next to the citadel building, and they soon finally made it out of the game.

* * *

"All right, we're home! Game Over!" Sabrina beamed. "Everybody out!"

At that, everyone climbed from the bag and saw that they were back in their normal clothes.

"Tubular! We made it!" Chloe exclaimed.

"Harvey, you okay?" Sabrina asked the mortal boy, removing the shades from the helmet.

"I... I think..." Harvey said as he took off the helmet.

"Oh, my goodness!" Dale's voice called out as he came downstairs to see the group. "I was on my way to work and the door was blown open! Is everyone alright?"

"Uh, yeah, I think so," Harvey said before seeing that the game had been damaged beyond repair. "Sorry about the game."

"Not your fault," replied Dale. "I was afraid the technology was unsafe. The minute I was put in charge, I rushed over to put a stop to this."

"What happened to MBA?" Cherry asked.

"It was terrible!" Dale replied. "He was at his desk, testing some equipment when he sneezed so hard, he blew himself out the window! Haven't seen him since."

"Grody to the max." Maritza remarked.

"Oh, look at this mess!" Dale sulked. "I'll get a crew to clean it up immediately."

"And I'm gonna go lie down for a while," replied Harvey. "I'm feeling dizzy... And confused." and he headed up the stairs.

"We did it, gang!" Atticus said before sharing a high-five with the group. "We beat the monsters and rescued the dude-in-distress."

"Couldn't have done it without a little help with my friends." Cherry gave a small smile.

"I also think I've had all the mythology I can stand for a while." Sabrina added.

They soon went upstairs before a sneeze was heard coming out of the bag of holding.


	6. Chapter 5: Don't Cry Out Loud

Meanwhile, Hilda was cleaning up the house a bit before putting on a home radio as she looked a little emotional before the next song soon came on which really seemed to call out to her.

 ** _"Baby cried the day the circus came to town, 'cuz she didn't want parades just passin' by her, So she painted on a smile and took up with some clown~"_** The radio sang while Hilda began to think of when she was dating Drell before they had a terrible break-up after he left her at the altar of their wedding centuries ago, she was devastated back then, but she felt a little heartbroken and seemed to miss him. ** _"While she danced without a net upon the wire, I know a lot about her 'cuz, you see, Baby is an awful lot like me, Don't cry out loud, Just keep it inside, learn how to hide your feelings, Fly high and proud, And if you should fall, remember you almost had it all~"_**

Drell sighed to himself as he was shown to be listening to the radio with that song as well as he had requested it, knowing that Hilda would be listening to the radio by now as he requested the song to play as his way of apologizing for what he did because he wanted her back in his life. As Sabrina and the others returned to the Spellman house, they saw Hilda listening to the radio.

"Aunt Hilda?" Sabrina called out before rushing to her crying aunt. "Aunt Hilda! Are you all right?"

"Oh... Hello, dear..." Hilda sniffled a little. "I was just thinking."

"That's dangerous." Cherry smirked.

"Very funny, Cherry," snorted Hilda. "Like _you_ would understand what I'm going through."

"What...?" Cherry asked softly.

"Oh, I should've given him another chance... Why didn't I?" Hilda went back to crying.

"Who?" Atticus asked.

"Drell!" Hilda cried.

"That creepy guy with the mole?" Sabrina flinched.

"Lemme guess, you two used to date?" asked Lionel.

"I never told you?" Hilda asked.

"I don't think so," Atticus said. "Um, if you don't mind... Could you tell us?"

"Well... All right..." Hilda said, turning off the radio before she sat with them in the kitchen to talk this over. "I first met Drell during the first Thanksgiving. You know, Pilgrims, Indians, that sort of thing."

* * *

_Flashback shows a very young Hilda as a preteen as she looked sort of like a rebel and looked very bored with nothing to do while on a boat that was traveling._

"It was such a boring trip," Hilda narrated as her younger self yawned boredly. "I would've thrown myself overboard if I wasn't afraid of drowning, especially during that time. Soon, I met him..."

_A younger Drell was soon shown, snickering to himself as he began to blow raspberry sounds while some Puritans sat down and looked to each other in embarrassment and annoyance. "Man, was that FUN!" Drell chuckled. "These guys are all a buncha wetheads! I need someone who really GETS me! But what are the odds of THAT happening?"_

_Hilda looked curious about him and soon wandered over a little bashfully. Drell snickered before running into Hilda and they fell on top of each other._

_"Oops..." Hilda muttered._

_"Watch where I'm going!" Drell glared. "My mother says I'm the most important kid in the world, and you oughta be careful, you--" he then looked into her eyes. "You... You..."_

_"What?" asked Hilda. "Do I have something on my face?"_

_Drell stepped back a bit, looking to her._

_"...I'm sorry for running into you..." Hilda said to him._

_"Uh... It was my fault, really..." Drell said while blushing. "I'm kind of a goofball."_

_"You said it, not me!" A younger girl smirked._

_"Little sisters should be seen and not heard!" Drell snapped at her which made Hilda giggle a little. "Oh, you liked that, huh?" he then asked. "I've been looking for someone with a good sense of humor!"_

_Hilda smiled bashfully to Drell. "Hey, you know what would be really funny?" she then smirked a bit._

_"What?" Drell smirked back._

* * *

_The Mayflower continued to sail about before there was an explosion and they soon sort of crash docked on the land which would soon be the new land for The First Thanksgiving while Drell and Hilda laughed together as they caused that, but the puritans all glared at them in accusatory._

_"What?" asked Drell. "Ain't you ever heard of a JOKE?"_

_Two pairs of adult witches came over which made Drell and Hilda grin nervously before they were soon sent to the lower decks which had them both grounded. They then found themselves talking and getting to know each other better before they seemed to feel a spark._

"It would take some time after that, but... We were falling in love..." Hilda continued to narrate as time phased through, showing hundreds of years together up until the wedding. "We spent centuries together, but we weren't officially a couple until the 17th century, and later on planned our wedding. We ordered a couple fields of black orchids and brought Homer out of retirement to do the entertainment, but at the last moment, Drell had ditched out, never shown up, leaving me at the altar."

_"He hasn't called." Zelda told her sister regretfully, walking over as everyone else had gone home and given up on the groom ever showing up to his wedding day._

_Hilda nodded sadly, but snapped her fingers as she destroyed the temple out of sadness and anger before they went home._

* * *

"Huh... Funny," Lionel replied. "Drell got kinda choked up after he saved our butts from Della."

"He got choked up?" asked Sabrina. "Who was the one sobbing at his feet after he saved us?"

"Well, excuse me for being grateful," Lionel replied. "We almost died!"

"But for what it's worth... It's obvious he misses you like a starving man misses three square meals," Atticus replied. "Anyone with eyes could see it!"

Cherry just shrugged.

"Aw, come on, Cherry..." Atticus said to his oldest friend. "Can't you see this is a chance for us to get them back together?"

"Meh," Cherry replied. "He's probably just milking some cow to get sympathy."

"Cherry, you know he cares about us... He saved us from Della... He misses Hilda..." Mo told her. "Where's your empathy?"

"I'm not sure if I have any," Cherry shrugged. "I bet if I went to see him right this minute, I would feel nothing."

"Is that so?" asked Zelda, and Drell poked out from behind her, waving. "Guess what followed me home?"

"Guh..." Cherry gulped a bit as that seemed to frighten her a bit.

"Thanks for letting me in." Drell told Zelda.

"Really... You didn't have to..." Zelda replied, trying to hide slight annoyance.

Drell wiped his eyes as they seemed to be red now and the sides of his face were soaking wet and he had his glasses off, showing how sad he looked right now with a small sniffle.

"Were you... Crying?" asked Lionel.

"NO!" Drell exclaimed. "I was... Sweating through my eyes? Forget it, that's nasty. Okay, I was crying."

"You... Cry...?" Cherry asked.

"Well, of course I do, I'm not a robot!" Drell replied. "What? You don't think I have feelings?"

"I... I never said that..." Cherry chuckled nervously.

"Yeah!" Salem added. "You just said that he was probably just milking it to gain sympathy, and that if you went to see him at the moment, you wouldn't feel _anything_! Your words, not mine!"

Cherry turned to the cat with a glare.

"You gotta watch what you say around here," Salem smirked a bit. "It might come back to bite you."

"Listen to this cat, he thinks he's so funny!" Cherry said nervously to Drell before heading for the front door. "I think I hear my mother calling. I gotta go. Buh-bye!"

But before she could, Hilda zapped the door, temporarily sealing it shut. "No you don't," she replied. "You made your bed, so lie in it. Now get back on that couch THIS INSTANT!" she boomed, her head becoming gigantic.

Cherry zipped onto the couch, crossing her arms with widened eyes.

"Thank you~" Hilda then smiled peacefully, returning back to normal. "Why don't you kids sit in the kitchen with Drell and I'll make you all some snacks?"

"I really should leave now." Cherry said nervously.

"I insist that you stay..." Hilda told her before giving a warning look. "I may not be your mother, but if you're a guest in my home, you'll do as I say."

Cherry sighed. "Fine..." she grumbled to herself as she sat in the kitchen with the others.

Hilda soon went to make snacks.

"Did anyone else know she could do that?!" Cherry soon asked from mass hysteria.

"I see it sometimes." Sabrina replied.

"Oh, gee, thanks..." Cherry muttered.

"I guess it only happens when she's _really_ angry." Lionel replied.

* * *

They soon waited in the kitchen with Drell as the clock slowly ticked before he eventually calmed himself down as his eyes went back to their natural color and he put his glasses back on. Everyone either drummed the table, picked at their nails, or shifted in their seats as Hilda didn't allow them to go anywhere. Lionel took out a comic book and started reading it to kill time, then handed the other different objects from his bag to keep them occupied.

"So... How's the Other Realm...?" Cherry asked Drell, sliding out of her seat a bit.

"It's fine..." Drell replied. "Kinda lonely when everyone else is gone."

"How sad..." Cherry said, slinking to the floor before crawling on the floor to leave.

"I wouldn't do that if I were you." Sabrina said to Cherry.

The door sparked with electric energy as a fly buzzed towards it, and got fried to ashes. Cherry scooted back against the others at the table before putting on her Walkman to comfort herself.

Hilda soon came by with a tray of chocolate chip cookies. "Behold! Happiness on a silver platter!" she then announced happily.

Everyone soon took a cookie to eat for themselves, though Drell didn't think he deserved any, so he left himself out. Hilda saw this, then gently moved a cookie towards him as a show of goodwill.

"No... I don't deserve that..." Drell said, turning away a bit from her. "I let you down."

"...Why didn't you come to the wedding?" Hilda frowned. "I know you're a very busy man in the Council, but you could've made time for me."

"Hilda, I tried to come, really I did," Drell said to her. "I got stuck in a meeting. I couldn't cancel it or anything, I was... Trapped. By the time it was over, I rushed over to the ceremony, but when I got there, you were all gone. I found your letter though saying how you never wanted to see or speak to me again."

"So it was all a huge misunderstanding?" Lionel asked. "Huh... Go figure."

"Hilda, I'm really, really sorry about leaving you there by yourself... That dumb meeting kept me busy, I didn't know it was gonna happen, honest!" Drell told his ex. "I specifically told the others I would be out for the day so I could marry you, but a big emergency just slapped me in the face."

Hilda looked to him before turning away, crossing her arms. "How do I know you're not just saying this?"

"These cookies are really good." Cherry muttered to herself.

"Like I would genuinely lie to _you_!" Drell replied. "What would I have to gain from _that_?!"

"Hilda, I think I really need to--" Cherry said, standing up.

"SIT DOWN!" Drell and Hilda told her.

"Alrighty." Cherry said, sitting back down.

"Look, Hilda, there are gonna be things in my life that try to get in my way, I'm not denying that," said Drell. "But I promise on my wand...that I'll always make time for you. Cuz _you're_ my priority one."

"I guess I know you're being honest for sure." Hilda said.

"How?" Drell replied.

"I gave you Truth Sprinkles in your cookie." Hilda smiled bashfully, looking like a shy school girl.

"That would explain why I said that..." Drell blinked.

"So you mean it...?" Hilda asked. "You miss me that much?"

"More than words can say..." Drell said honestly as he looked to her.

The others watched the two adult witches before Hilda soon cried before hugging Drell and kissing him all over his face as she suddenly forgave him.

"Okay, that's sweet and all, but... Gross," Lionel winced. "That's _way_ more slobber than I've seen in my life."

The others continued to watch as the couple began to be rather intimate with each other in front of them.

"Get me out of here!" Cherry cried out. "I don't have to see this!"

"I don't think I'm ever going to sleep again..." Sabrina groaned.

* * *

Eventually, it was soon over while the adventure group looked a little scarred for life before Drell went back home while Hilda looked so happy and giddy.

"And you kept us here for... _that_... Why, exactly?!" Lionel exclaimed.

"Huh? Oh, I didn't see you dears there..." Hilda said, breaking the curse on the door to let them go free. "Come back again anytime."

The group soon ran out as they were really uncomfortable about what they were forced to see for about three hours.

"Lucky you guys, I still have to live here." Sabrina muttered.

"My condolences," Lionel replied. "We'll... See you later."

The group soon went off while Sabrina looked the most traumatized since Hilda was actually her aunt.

"So, you guys think that things will change?" Atticus asked.

"Something tells me they will change very soon," Cherry replied. "With Drell and Hilda anyway."

"Not to mention going to high school." Mo said nervously.

"We're just drowning in changes here!" Lionel exclaimed.

They really were, including a big adventure coming up in the future. Some time had passed as Drell and Hilda were dating again, but they weren't married just yet, Drell decided he wanted to wait for a very special occasion, and he was still a tough teacher, but he was better than he used to be especially since he had his dream girl back in his life and still sent the group away on adventures/missions as his students, but they didn't know how long it would last, but he suggested some time after they would graduate from high school. And so, time passed as usual until one fateful day...


	7. Chapter 6: Journey into Hill Valley

Everyone was now in high school. Chloe had moved away into a new state and Gem had been accepted to a boarding school out of the country. It was more sad to see Chloe go, and it was almost refreshing to see Gem leave after middle school graduation. It was now close to Cherry's birthday, and the others often planned on what to do as it was October 25th, 1985.

"I'm thinking... Halloween-themed birthday party," Lionel suggested. "Cherry likes Halloween, right? So I'm thinking we can set up a huge party that's like a mix of a regular birthday party and a Halloween party!"

"Huh... Yeah!" Atticus beamed. "Oh, Cherry would love that."

"We could probably show up in costume with our gifts." Patch also suggested.

"Even _better_!" Lionel exclaimed. "This is gonna be _great_!"

"What're we talking about?" Cherry asked as she soon came by.

" _Dungeons and Dragons_?" Atticus and Lionel made up before glancing to each other in surprise at how in sync that was.

"Oh... Cool... I guess..." Cherry replied. "Sorry I'm a little late. I had the craziest dream about time-travel."

"Whoa, really?" asked Lionel. "Sounds most bodacious!"

They soon came into their school as today seemed to be a normal day.

"What a nice little Fall day... Nothing could ruin it." Cherry replied.

The PA system soon went off. **_"Atticus Fudo, Monique Brown, Lionel Schwartz, and Cherry Butler, report to the principal's office, post haste,"_** A familiar voice announced that didn't sound like the principal. **_"That means NOW for you meddling bullies trying to grill them for being sent in so early."_**

Lionel and the others looked at each other before teleporting there shortly after.

* * *

Sabrina was already there before looking over to see her best friends since middle school. The principal's chair turned around to show Drell, leaning back with his arms behind his head with his legs crossed on the desk.

"Don't tell me you're gonna be the new principal from now on." Cherry said nervously.

"I'm not that cruel," Drell smirked. "Anyway, don't worry about class today, if anyone asks, you're on a field trip... With me!"

"Pretty good excuse," Lionel replied. "So, where we headed?"

"California in the town of Hill Valley," Drell said. "Got a special assignment for you guys."

"Vampires? Werewolves? Ghosts?" Cherry and Atticus guessed, almost sounding a little too hopeful.

"Actually, nothing supernatural, this is more science-fictiony." Drell replied.

"Whoa... Way cool!" Lionel exclaimed. "What is it?"

"You'll find out when I take you there," Drell said. "I'll go with you for safety though."

"So, we won't get in trouble for missing school?" Sabrina asked.

"Nah, I covered this," Drell replied. "You're all on a field trip for an educational journey."

"Oh, clever." Mo nodded.

"Thank you, thank you..." Drell said, applauding for himself.

"So, where in Hill Valley are we going?" Atticus asked.

* * *

They soon all teleported away and found themselves in front of a high school.

"School?!" Cherry asked. "You took us _out_ of school to go _into_ a school?"

"Yes, here, you will meet a young man named Martin Seamus McFly." Drell replied.

"Ooookay," Lionel replied. "I'm guessing he's the character du jour on our to help list?"

"That's right..." Drell said, pushing the adventure group inside.

Patch hid away in Atticus's book bag as they came into the school.

* * *

They ended up in the hallway where other students were while one girl who stood out from the crowd looked a little concerned about something, or rather, someone.

"Whoa... What's got _you_ so worked up?" asked Mo.

The girl blinked and looked over.

"Um... Hi?" Sabrina said. "We're, uh, new in school. We just started today. What's your name?"

"Jennifer Parker," The girl said before looking around. "Oh, I hope he's not late again."

"Who? Your boyfriend?" Cherry asked.

"Yeah..." The girl said nervously. "I didn't see him earlier, and the class bell's about to ring."

Shortly after said bell rang, a teenage boy wearing a red jacket with blue sleeves and a pair of jeans came in, putting his skateboard in his bag. "Hello, Jennifer." he waved.

"Marty, don't go this way. Strickland's looking for you," advised Jennifer. "If you're caught it'll be four tardies in a row!"

Lionel looked to the others. "That must be the guy..." he muttered.

"I'll wait with you." Drell told the teenagers.

"Thanks." The group replied.

"Alright, c'mon, I think we're safe." Jennifer told her boyfriend as they came into the hallway.

"Y'know this time it wasn't my fault," The boy told his girlfriend. "The Doc set all of his clocks 25 minutes slow.

"Doc?" A man's voice asked in annoyance, showing a sharp-looking bald man towards the two teenagers he knew in his school already. "Am I to understand you're still hanging around with Dr. Emmett Brown, McFly?" he then took out two pink slips to the students. "Tardy slip for you, Miss Parker. And one for you McFly I believe that makes four in a row. Now let me give you a nickel's worth of advice, young man. This so-called Dr. Brown is dangerous, he's a real nutcase. You hang around with him you're gonna end up in big trouble."

"And you think _I'm_ strict." Drell whispered to his personal students.

"That was beforehand," replied Sabrina. "This guy's just a jerk."

"Oh, yes, sir." Marty groaned to his principal.

"You got a real attitude problem, McFly. You're a slacker," The principal sharply told the student. "You remind me of you father when he went her, he was a slacker too."

"Can I go now, Mr. Strickland?" Marty soon asked.

"I noticed you band is on the roster for dance auditions after school today. Why even bother Mcfly?" Mr. Strickland seemed to mock his student now which angered the adventure group, even making Patch growl from inside of Atticus's bag. "You haven't got a chance, you're too much like your own man. No McFly ever amounted to anything in the history of Hill Valley."

"Yeah, well, history is gonna change." Marty retorted.

* * *

Later, at the auditorium after school, Marty's band was getting ready to try out.

"Next, please." said the audition judge, and Cherry and the others watched as Marty and his band stepped up.

"Alright, we're the Pinheads." Marty announced as he and his band started to play the opening to _"Power of Love"_ by Huey Lewis and the News.

"Okay, that's enough. Now stop the microphone," said the judge, as Marty and his friends stopped. "I'm sorry, fellas. I'm afraid you're just too darn loud. Next, please. Where's the next group, please?"

"Dude... Mondo bogus." Lionel sighed.

Marty looked deeply hurt and shocked about what the judge said as they had been rejected. The group soon left as Marty felt like his future was nothing more than a big dud now.

"Poor guy." Cherry commented about Marty.

* * *

They soon left the school, having befriended Marty and Jennifer since they "started going to school" here and soon followed them out as an election van passed by with a big announcement.

 ** _"Re-elect Mayor Goldie Wilson,"_ **The van announced while driving by the neighborhood. **_"Progress is his middle name."_**

"I'm too loud. I can't believe it," Marty sulked about being rejected. "I'm never gonna get a chance to play in front of anybody."

"Marty, one rejection isn't the end of the world." said Jennifer.

"Nah, I just don't think I'm cut out for music." replied Marty.

"But you're good, Marty, you're really good!" advised Jennifer. "And this audition tape of yours is great, you gotta send it in to the record company. It's like Doc's always saying."

Marty sighed. "Yeah, I know, If you put your mind to it you could accomplish anything."

"That's good advice, Marty." replied Atticus.

"Alright, okay. What if I send in the tape and they don't like it?" asked Marty. "I mean, what if they say I'm no good. What if they say, "Get out of here, kid, you got no future." I mean, I just don't think I can take that kind of rejection. Jesus, I'm beginning to sound like my old man..."

The others glanced at one another.

"C'mon, he's not that bad," said Jennifer. "At least he's letting you borrow the car tomorrow night."

Lionel glanced over and spotted a really sweet-looking truck. "Check out that four-by-four. That is some hot shit." he had to admit.

"Someday, Jennifer, someday. Wouldn't it be great to take that truck up to the lake?" Marty added. "Throw a couple of sleeping bags in the back. Lie out under the stars..."

"Buddy, you read my mind!" Lionel smirked.

"That really does sound nice..." Cherry smiled bashfully.

"Stop it." Jennifer said, keeping her boyfriend off from her.

"What?" Marty asked.

"Does your mom know about tomorrow night?" Jennifer then asked him.

"No, get out of town, my mom thinks I'm going camping with the guys," Marty replied which got him a look as he tried to explain. "Well, Jennifer, my mother would freak out if she knew I was going up there with you, and I get this standard lecture about how she never did that kind of stuff when she was a kid. Now look, I think she was born a nun."

"I feel the same way about my Aunt Zelda sometimes," Sabrina replied. "She's just trying to keep you respectable."

"Well, she's not doing a very good job." Marty smirked.

Marty and Jennifer were about to kiss, but a woman shoved a flyer in their faces.

"Save the clock tower, save the clock tower!" The woman exclaimed. "Mayor Wilson is sponsoring an initiative to replace that clock. 30 years ago, lightning struck that clock tower and the clock hasn't run since. We at the Hill Valley Preservation Society think it should be preserved exactly the way it is as part of our history and heritage!"

"Here you go, lady. There's a quarter." Marty replied as he dropped a quarter into her collection tin.

The others took out a little pocket change and contributed it as well.

"Thank you, don't forget to take a flyer." The woman replied.

"Right." Sabrina replied; they did, and the woman walked off.

"Where were we?" asked Marty.

"Right about here." Jennifer replied, as they kissed.

Lionel pondered with a smirk. "That give you guys any... Ideas?" he asked as Jennifer's father drove up.

"We go join them on their weekend?" Atticus asked. "Uh, I kinda got lost in Mo's eyes from the idea of camping under the stars."

"...I was thinking that, yes," Lionel replied. "That and getting to make out with Cherry under the stars would be the greatest thing in my life since I discovered the Ninja Turtles comic book..."

"Aww..." Mo smiled from that.

"She's a shining star too." Lionel smiled back, having a little daydream about the girl he loved.

Jennifer was soon going to her father after kissing Marty, seeing the number she left for him and seeing a little note that said "Love ya!" which made his day a little better. Marty smiled from that and took his skateboard, deciding to get back home.

"Dang... Drell didn't tell us where to go... Now what?" Atticus asked.

"Follow Marty?" Sabrina shrugged.

"Oh... OH!" Lionel exclaimed. "Yeah. We should... Probably do that."

* * *

And so, they headed to the McFly house.

"Perfect, just perfect..." sighed Marty. He and the others arrived in time to see a Tow Truck driving up with what's left of one car.

Inside was a big, jock-like man who was griping at a skinny and nerdy man.

"I can't believe you loaned me a car, without telling me it had a blind spot!" exclaimed the bully. "I could've been killed!"

"Now, now, Biff, now, I never noticed any blind spot before when I would drive it," explained the feeble man, before spotting Marty and his new friends. "Hi, son."

"What are you, blind, McFly?! It's there!" exclaimed Biff. "How else do you explain that wreck out there?!"

"I take back everything I said about Drell being a big, loudmouth, ugly guy." Cherry said to herself with her hands clasped together.

"At least now Drell kinda respects our space and isn't as sharp with us from when he was still sore about Hilda." Atticus nodded in agreement.

"Now, Biff, um, can I assume that your insurance is gonna pay for the damage?" George soon asked, a bit weakly.

"My insurance?! It's your car, _your_ insurance should pay for it," Biff scoffed as he gestured to his clothes which had a bit of a stain on them. "Hey, I wanna know who's gonna pay for this? I spilled beer all over it when that car smashed into me. Who's gonna pay my cleaning bill?"

Patch quietly growled from inside Atticus's bag, looking like he wanted to bite Biff, but he didn't dare leave Atticus's bag.

"And where's my reports?" Biff then asked Marty's weakling of a father.

"Uh, well, I haven't finished those up yet, but you know I figured since they weren't due 'til-" George said nervously.

"Hello, hello, anybody home?" Biff glared, knocking George on the head like a school bully. "Think, McFly, think. I gotta have time to get them re-typed. Do you realize what would happen if I hand in my reports in your handwriting? I'll get fired. You wouldn't want that to happen would you?"

"Of course not, Biff, now I wouldn't want that to happen." said George meekly. "Now, uh, I'll finish those reports up tonight, and I'll run em them on over first thing tomorrow, alright?"

"Hey, not too early; I sleep in on Saturday," said Biff. "Oh, McFly, your shoe's untied!"

George looked down and Biff smacked his head.

"Don't be so gullible, McFly! You got the place fixed up nice," Biff continued as he raided the fridge to get a beer as if he were at his own house. "I have your car towed all the way to your house and all you've got for me is light beer," he turned to Marty as he pulled the beer out. "What're YOU looking at, butthead? Say hi to your mom for me." and with that, Biff exited the house.

George turned to see Marty's disappointed expression. "I know what you're gonna say, son, and you're right, you're right," he replied. "But Biff just happens to be my supervisor, and I'm afraid I'm not very good at confrontations."

"The car, Dad, I mean he wrecked it, totaled it," Marty complained. "I needed that car tomorrow night, Dad, I mean do you have any idea how important this was, do you have any clue?

"I know and all I could say is I'm sorry." replied George.

"That... Was painful to watch," said Lionel. "Physically _and_ emotionally."

"Sir, no offense, but you need to stand up for yourself." Cherry advised.

"If only that were easy." George sighed a bit.

"Could my new friends stay for dinner?" Marty asked.

"Well... I guess that would be alright," George replied as he walked off. "We'll talk about this later."

"I can't believe he's my father sometimes." Marty sighed sharply in the presence of his new friends.

"No kidding. What a doormat!" Lionel exclaimed.

* * *

Later, at the dinner table, the whole family, plus our crew, was having dinner. George was working on his reports and watching TV. David and Linda, Marty's older siblings were also there. David was dressed in his work clothes, a fast food restaurant outfit for Burger King.

"Believe me, Marty, you're better off not having to worry about all the aggravation and headaches of playing at that dance." said George.

"He's absolutely right, Marty," David agreed. "The last thing you need is headaches."

David and George soon saw _The Honeymooners_ on TV and began to laugh at the episode shown.

" _Honeymooners_... My dad says the 1950's were such a simpler time." Cherry commented.

"Well, he's right." George gave a small smile.

"Kids, we're gonna have to eat this cake by ourselves," Marty's mother Lorraine soon came out of the fridge, looking like a total train-wreck as she tossed down a cake with a bird on it leaving a cage as a decoration as she looked miserable. "Uncle Joey didn't make parole again. I think it would be nice, if you all dropped him a line."

"Parole...?" Atticus's face paled a little.

"Uncle Jailbird Joey?" asked Marty.

"He's YOUR brother, Mom." added David.

"Yeah, I think it's a major embarrassment having an uncle in prison." added Linda.

Lorraine sighed. "We all make mistakes in life, children." she replied.

"I think we're all aware of that." Lionel nodded.

David checked the clock. "Goddammit, I'm late..." he muttered.

"David, watch your mouth," warned Lorraine. "You come here and kiss your mother before you go, come here!"

"C'mon, Mom, make it fast, I'll miss my bus!" said David. "Hey, see you tonight, Pop," he replied as he kissed George's head. "Woo, time to change that oil."

George chuckled at that.

"Hey Marty, I'm not your answering service, but while you're outside pouting about the car, Jennifer Parker called you twice." Linda soon told her younger brother.

"I don't like her, Marty," Lorraine shook her head. "Any girl who calls a boy is just asking for trouble."

"Mrs. McFly, there's nothing wrong with calling a boy." Mo replied.

"I think it's terrible. Girls chasing boys," Lorraine replied. "When I was your age I never chased a boy, or called a boy, or sat in a parked car with a boy."

"Then how am I supposed to ever meet anybody?" Linda sulked from that advice.

"Well, it will just happen," Lorraine replied. "Like the way I met your father."

"I just wonder if any boy's gonna love me?" Cherry commented.

"Sooner than you think." Lionel hinted, trying to keep calm that she seemed unaware of his feelings for her.

"Give it time, Cherry; you'll catch on." Sabrina smiled.

"Huh?" Cherry glanced over.

"You'll find out." Sabrina replied.

"Whatever." Cherry shrugged, obliviously.

"So, uh, how did Mrs. McFly meet Mr. McFly?" Mo soon asked.

"It was so stupid, Grandpa hit him with the car." Linda scoffed.

"It was meant to be," Lorraine replied. "Anyway, if Grandpa hadn't hit him, then none of you would have been born." she then told her children.

"Yeah, well, I still don't understand what Dad was doing in the middle of the street." Linda then said.

"What was it, George, bird watching?" Lorraine then asked as she looked unsure herself.

"What, Lorraine, what?" George asked, a bit distracted since he was under a bit of stress.

"Anyway, Grandpa hit him with the car and brought him into the house," Lorraine soon continued to tell the story. "He seemed so helpless, like a little lost puppy, my heart just went out for him."

"Jesus..." Lionel remarked. "That's sweet. Pathetic, but sweet."

"Yeah, Mom, we know; you've told us this story a million times," said Linda. "You felt sorry for him so you decided to go with him to The Fish Under The Sea Dance."

"No, it was The _Enchantment_ Under The Sea Dance...our first date," said Lorraine. "It was the night of that terrible thunderstorm, remember, George? Your father kissed me for the very first time on that dance floor. It was then I realized I was going to spend the rest of my life with him."

George continued to watch the TV. Eventually, the others had some cake, not letting it go to waste.

"Should I call your parents?" Lorraine asked the adventure group. "I don't want them to worry."

"Oh, uh, it's probably fine..." Atticus grinned bashfully even though they didn't know where Drell was right now. "My, uh, uncle always has a way of finding us."

"Yep," Lionel replied. "Group meeting in an hour, it's important." he whispered to the others.

The others looked to him and nodded while they finished up some cake since Lorraine offered them some.

"Pretty good cake." Cherry said.

"Oh, well, thank you," Lorraine smiled wearily. "I was just hoping I could share it with my baby brother."

"Bummer, Mrs. McFly," sighed Lionel. "Maybe next time."

"Maybe." Lorraine replied as she took a drink of what looked like liquor.

The others frowned as Lorraine, though seeming to be happily married, seemed unhappy with her family's lives.

* * *

Later, they met up in the guest room, each of them dressed in pajamas and holding sleeping bags.

"All right, Lionel, what's up?" Patch asked as he felt glad to finally be let out of the bag, stretching a bit.

"Yeah, this sounded important." Atticus added before petting his Dalmatian.

"Well... I figured that this was a good time to tell you..." Lionel replied before his eyes darted around. "...I met somebody."

"Oh?" The group asked curiously.

"Was it a secret wizard?" Sabrina asked with shifty eyes.

"What? No!" Lionel replied. "I really think this might be 'The One', you know?"

"Okay... Start over... Who did you meet and what's going on?" Cherry asked, rubbing her head a bit as she tried to listen carefully.

Lionel sighed. "I'm... In love... With someone." he explained slowly.

"Ooh~..." The others then said before chuckling a bit.

"Thanks." Lionel rolled his eyes.

"Sorry, couldn't help it," Sabrina giggled. "Who is it?"

"Well, she has brown hair, wears glasses.." Lionel explained. "Has a sarcastic sense of humor, and just keeps on going no matter what people say about her."

"Strange, sounds familiar." Cherry said.

"Yeah, I think I see her now." Atticus replied.

Mo and Sabrina both beamed a bit, finding it cute that Lionel found love and it was with Cherry, obviously.

"Check the mirror," Lionel replied. "I'm sure you'll recognize her."

Cherry glanced over until it then hit her with wide eyes and she gasped in an almost over-the-top sort of way. "Could it?!"

"Cherry and Lionel, Cherry and Lionel~" Patch soon sang a bit.

"Ding-Ding-Ding, give the girl a prize," Lionel smiled. "Took you long enough."

"Me...?" Cherry asked.

Patch continued to sing.

"Doggy goes to sleep outside." Cherry smirked, picking him up.

"Crap." Patch grumbled as he was taken out.

"You don't have to love me back, I've just been building up the courage to say how I felt," Lionel said to Cherry. "You're not disgusted, are you?"

"Not disgusted, just... Mostly surprised," Cherry replied. "I don't know if I feel the same way yet. Don't get mad or sad about that though, okay?"

"Hey, it's fine," Lionel replied. "I was mostly just exasperated that you hadn't caught on yet."

Cherry shrugged a bit as she was a very smart girl, but socially, she had a hard time reading cues from others at times.


	8. Chapter 7: The Science Experiment

Eventually, everyone went to get some sleep in the guest room since they had nothing else to do, but had an exhausting day going to a new school all of the sudden. Eventually, they were roused from their sleep by an alarm clock going off... At 1:00 in the morning. 

"Why is the alarm clock going off?" Cherry groaned. "I don't even remember us setting that."

"Must be Marty's..." Lionel yawned. "Let's go after him."

"Why would he set an alarm for 1:00 in the morning?" Cherry groaned.

Atticus soon went to the backyard to wake up Patch and bring him along as they went to follow after Marty as he seemed to have to go somewhere despite it being in the middle of the night.

* * *

Marty was seen riding his skateboard over to the Twin Pines Mall as it was a bit abandoned at this late hour and it wasn't too far off from his house. Patch soon picked up the scent of another dog and soon came further into the mall parking lot to find the other dog.

"Well, question asked, question answered," Lionel replied. "Now another: what's he doing out here?"

"I don't know, but I'd love to go back to bed right now." Cherry said, a little groggily.

"Einstein, hey Einstein," Marty smiled as he came up to the other dog, fussing around him a bit. "Where's the Doc, boy, huh?"

Suddenly the back of a van in the parking lot opened up. startling the teen a bit as smoke came out. As Marty backed away, he saw that something drove out of the van itself in reverse and right into the parking lot: it was a DeLorean, a popular car from the 1980's, though it had some technology hooked up to it.

"Whoooa..." The adventure group muttered to themselves.

"Huh? You guys?" Marty asked, looking over to see them.

"Oh... Hey, Marty." Cherry said bashfully.

"Sup?" asked Lionel.

Out of the car stepped a man with a shock of white hair, dressed in a lab coat. "Marty, you made it!" he exclaimed.

"Yeah... And I guess I brought some friends." Marty replied.

"Welcome to my latest experiment," said Doc. "It's the one I've been waiting for all my life!"

"Um, well, it's a Delorean, right?" asked Atticus.

"Bare with me, Marty, all of your questions will be answered!" explained Doc. "Roll tape, we'll proceed."

"Who's this dude?" asked Lionel.

"I would be known as Dr. Emmett Lathrop Brown, better known as 'Doc'," The man smiled to the group. "It's good to meet you all. Are you some of Marty's new friends?"

"Technically, yeah." Cherry shrugged.

"He's a good friend of mine," Marty told his new friends as he took out the video camera. "Check this out. Uh, well, it's a DeLorean, right?" he then asked his older friend who was like a mentor.

"Never mind that now, never mind that now." Doc brushed off.

"Alright... I'm ready." Marty then said as he began to film.

"Good evening, I'm Dr. Emmett Brown. I'm standing on the parking lot of Twin Pines Mall," Doc soon spoke into the camera, checking his watch while Marty did the same, though he flicked his wrist a bit as his watch seemed to be busted. "It's Saturday morning, October 26th, 1985, 1:18 AM and this is temporal experiment #1." he then came toward his dog to get him settled into the car.

"Way cool!" Lionel exclaimed.

"Thank you!" Doc smiled to him, appreciating that.

Patch began to get into the car with Doc.

"Whoa! Boy, you're not apart of the experiment!" Atticus said, getting his dog out of the car. "Sorry about that, sir. I guess Patch got a little excited."

"Please note that Einstein's clock is in complete synchronization with my control watch." explained Doc Brown.

"You have this thing hooked up to the car?" asked Mo.

"Watch your head," Doc smiled to Einstein, closing the door on his dog. "Have a good trip, Einstein."

"I'll just take that as a yes." Mo shrugged as she seemed to be ignored.

Doc soon took out a controller and began to control the car without having a driver as it went down the road a bit.

"Watch this. Not me, the car, the car!" Doc told Marty rapidly.

Everyone got into position as Doc got the car ready as he looked very excited.

"Now... If my calculations are correct, when this baby hits 88 miles per hour, you're gonna see some serious shit." Doc told them as he got the controller ready.

* * *

The group stepped back as the car headed straight for them, picking up speed all the while. It soon hit 88 miles per hour and was about to reach them, but suddenly... It disappeared and left twin trails of flames in the middle of the pavement, leaving just the humans at the scene of the experiment.

"Ha! What'd I tell you?! 88 miles per hour!" Doc exclaimed as he jumped for joy while Marty tried to pick up the flaming license plate that was now scalding hot. "The temporal displacement occurred at exactly 1:20 AM and zero seconds!"

"Jesus Christ! Jesus Christ, Doc, you disintegrated Einstein!" exclaimed Marty.

"Calm down, Marty, I didn't disintegrate anything!" explained Doc. "The molecular structure of Einstein and the car are completely intact!"

"Well, where the hell are they?" asked Lionel.

"The appropriate question is, 'when the hell are they?' " replied Doc. "Einstein has just become the world's first time traveler. I sent him into the future. One minute into the future to be exact. And at exactly 1:21 AM, we should catch up with him and the time machine."

"Oh, that is BADASS!" Lionel exclaimed.

"What on Earth?!" Cherry asked.

"No way!" Atticus gasped from his own amazement.

"Whoa, whoa, whoa... Back up, back up, back up..." Mo spoke up. "Are you telling me that you built a time machine out of a DeLorean?"

"The way I see it, if you're gonna build a time machine into a car why not do it with some style," Doc replied joyfully. "Besides, the stainless, steel construction made the flux dispersal--" he then jolted a bit before moving the teenagers out of the way as he felt something coming. "Look out!"

Suddenly, the DeLorean appeared, seeming to be covered in solid ice as it appeared from nowhere almost like it had teleported.

"Whoa! No doubt that inside that car is one chilly dog." Lionel remarked.

Doc looked to them and soon walked up to the car and put his hand on it before flinching from the temperature.

"What? Is it hot?" Marty asked.

"Marty, that car is covered in ice." Cherry deadpanned.

"It's cold, damn cold," Doc replied before opening the door with his foot a bit to open the door, shattering some ice on impact before he chuckled happily to his dog as he checked the clocks. "Einstein, you little devil! Einstein's clock is exactly one minute behind mine, it's still ticking."

"He's alright." Atticus gave a small smile to the dog.

"He's fine, and he's completely unaware that anything happened. As far as he's concerned the trip was instantaneous. That's why Einstein's watch is exactly one minute behind mine," Doc explained to everyone as he let Einstein go off. "He skipped over that minute to instantly arrive at this moment in time. Come here, I'll show you how it works." he then told the teenagers.

"This is gonna be good," Sabrina remarked to herself. "Aunt Zelda would love this guy."

"Well, then... We could probably set them up," Lionel replied. "Though he'd either pass out from the whole being a witch thing, or he'd be so used to it considering not much surprises him anymore."

"Heh." Sabrina giggled a little from that.

"You all coming?" Doc called out.

* * *

The teenagers soon came to join beside Doc as he came to show them something important.

"First, you turn the time circuits on, "The scientist demonstrated, turning on said time circuits on as some devices were heard being activated and beeping before he pointed to three different panels with LED lights before pointing to a keypad. "Now the first time display tells you where you're going, the second one tells you where you are now and the last one tells you where you were. To go through time, you must input the destination time in the keypad. Now let's say, you want to see the Declaration of Independence being signed..." he then put in the date.

July 4th, 1776 appeared on the first display. 

Or witness the birth of Christ." Doc then said as he put in another date.

The date December 25th, 0000 was then shown.

"Now, here's an important red-letter date in science's history: November 5th, 1955," Doc then said before he suddenly seemed to remember something before chuckling to himself. "Yes, November 5th, 1955."

"What? I don't get what happened!" Mo replied.

"That was the day I invented time travel!" exclaimed Doc. "I remember it vividly: I was standing on the edge of my toilet hanging a clock, the porcelain was wet, I slipped, hit my head on the edge of the sink!"

The group winced visibly.

"And when I came to I had a revelation, a picture, a picture in my head, a picture of this," Doc motioned to an odd-looking mechanism inside the car. "This is what makes time travel possible: the flux capacitor!"

"The flux capacitor..." Marty repeated in amazement as he continued to film this experience.

"It's taken me almost 30 years and my entire family fortune to realize the vision of that day. My God, has it been that long? Things have certainly changed around here," Doc then continued. "I remember when this was all farmland as far as the eye could see. Old Man Peabody owned all of this. He had this crazy idea about breeding pine trees." he then said like that was a silly idea.

Cherry chuckled a little as she found that funny of him.

"This is, uh, this is heavy-duty, Doc, this is great," Marty soon said to his friend as he continued to film while looking amazed. "Uh, does it run on regular unleaded gasoline?

"Unfortunately no, it requires something with a little more kick," Doc informed. "Plutonium."

Marty lowered the camera. "...Plutonium?" he asked.

"You're tellin' us that this thing is nuclear?!" Lionel added.

"Hey, hey, keep rolling, keep rolling there," Doc advised, and Marty kept on recording before he answered Lionel's question. "No, no, no, no, this sucker's electrical, but I need a nuclear reaction to generate the 1.21 gigawatts of electricity that I need!"

"Doc, you don't just walk into a store and ask for plutonium," replied Marty. "Did you rip this off?"

"Of course, from a group of Libyan Nationalists," said Doc, almost casual. "They wanted me to build them a bomb, so I took their plutonium and in turn gave them a shiny bomb case full of used pinball machine parts!"

Lionel gave an impressed whistle. "Doc, you are one hardcore dude." he remarked.

"Why, thank you, young man," Doc replied. "Let's get you guys into radiation suits, we must prepare to reload."

"Right behind you, sir." Atticus said.

"As if radiation could hurt Atticus." Cherry teased.

"Don't test it," Lionel advised. "Better safe than sorry."

* * *

A few minutes later everyone was fully clothed in radiation suits. Doc injected a rod of plutonium into the DeLorean, then removed his helmet.

"Safe now, everything's lead-lined. Don't you lose those tapes now, we'll need a record!" advised Doc, preparing to climb inside. "Whup, whup, I almost forgot my luggage. Who knows if they've got cotton underwear in the future? I'm allergic to all synthetics!"

"So you're heading to the future?" asked Mo.

"That's right, 25 years into the future!" said Doc. "I've always dreamed of seeing the future... Looking beyond my years, seeing the progress of mankind. I'll also be able to see who wins the next 25 World Series!"

"Yeah!" Mo cheered.

"Uh, Doc?" Marty spoke up.

"Huh?" Doc replied as he got ready to go.

"Uh, look us up when you get there." Marty said sheepishly.

"Indeed I will, roll 'em," Doc smiled sincerely before he got into position as Marty went back to filming. "I, Dr. Emmett Brown, am about to embark on a historic journey."

However, little did they know, someone was coming, and one of them was Drell as he seemed to be running in place in a panic.

"Wait, aren't you forgetting something, sir?" Atticus asked once he noticed something.

"What have I been thinking of? I almost forgot to bring some extra plutonium!" Doc chuckled as he went to pick it up. "How did I ever expect to get back? One pallet, one trip; I must be out of my mind."

Patch and Einstein soon began to bark as they sensed trouble.

"What is it, you two?" asked Atticus.

Doc turned and spotted... The Libyans in their VW hippie van. "Oh my God, they found me! I don't know how, but they found me!" The scientist exclaimed. "Run for it, kids!"

"Who? Who?" asked Marty.

"Who do you THINK?! The Libyans!" shouted Doc.

"Holy shit!" Mo exclaimed.

The teenagers soon ran off for their own protection behind the white van. The Libyans shouted in their native language as they looked ready to shoot. Things did not look good for Doc, so he decided to surrender, but...

"Nooooo!" Drell called out as he tried to run into the scene as the Libyans soon began to shoot, soon hitting him too along with Doc.

"You idiot! What were you--" Lionel started, before realizing. "Hey, wait a second, Drell is magic! He should just be grazed! I'll go get him, you guys get in the car, and I'll join you shortly!"

"You sure?" Atticus asked.

"Just trust me!" Lionel replied.

"Come on then!" Atticus then told the others as he grabbed Mo's hand.

Marty couldn't believe what had become of his best friend in the world. " **NOOOOOO! YOU BASTARDS!** "

Lionel quickly grabbed Drell's body. "Y'know... It's a good thing you're not a big, fat guy..." he grunted. "Otherwise, this would be _really_ difficult...!" Regardless, he still pulled the body towards the car and threw it into the back seat, as Marty and the others piled in and took off.

"C'mon, more, dammit. Jeez..." Marty grumbled as he tried to speed up the car. "Holy shit. Let's see if you bastards can do 90..."

Patch looked over and gasped as he noticed something about the car that no one else saw. "MARTY, WAIT!" he then cried out, but it was too late.

The DeLorean soon hit 88 miles per hour and there was a flash of light shown as they were out of the mall parking lot and were now in the middle of a field and a scarecrow hit the windshield which alarmed Marty as he kept on driving before they suddenly crashed into a barn.

* * *

The barn door soon opened to show a family as they had heard something alarming which woke them up and they looked at the DeLorean in a bit of shock and horror.

"Pa, what is it?" The mother's voice asked her husband. "What is it, Pa?"

"Looks like a airplane, without wings." The father's voice replied.

"That ain't no airplane," The son spoke up, taking out a comic book. "Look."

The boy held up his alien comic, which showed an alien craft that looked a lot like the DeLorean. They all held their breath as the door opened and the group climbed out. Their radiation hoods were over their faces, so they thought that the group were aliens.

"Children..." said the father, as he and his family scrambled out of the barn.

"Listen..." Marty started before he stumbled briefly. "Hello, uh, excuse me? Sorry about your barn!"

Suddenly a shot hit a part of the barn, making Marty yelp in alarm. That shot almost hit him! He then gasped as the father had come back with a shotgun with the rest of the family following, thinking that he was an alien.

"It's already mutated in human form, shoot it!" The son exclaimed in alarm.

"Take that you mutated son-of-a-bitch!" The father called out, continuing to shoot as Marty rushed back into the car, hitting around the barn while the other teenagers stayed put in alarm.

"We gotta get out of here." Atticus said as he went to drive them out of the barn.

"Yeah, somewhere less 'gun friendly'." Cherry added weakly.

The DeLorean soon began to ride out of the barn as the family looked disturbed, but yelped as the car had hit the two pines at the ranch door.

"My pine! Why, you--!" The father cried out as they soon drove away. "You space bastard, you killed a pine!"

"Screw off, piss-head!" Lionel snapped as they took off.

At least the people spoke English, but their clothes were _way_ out of date. Not to mention the hairstyles.

* * *

"Guys, this might sound nutso..." said Mo. "But I think we ended up traveling back in time."

"What makes you say that?" Cherry asked.

"I was trying to tell you," Patch whispered so Marty wouldn't hear him. "The time circuit was still set for 1955, so we ended up going 88 miles per hour and ended up here, so Mo is right!"

"Not to mention how everyone is dressed," said Lionel. "Just take a look and see! Everyone's dressed like they stepped out of those old colorless movies!"

"It's probably my imagination..." mused Marty, since their brush with the Libyans had terrified them more than they had cared to admit. "Alright, alright... Okay, McFly, get a grip on yourself. It's all a dream. Just a very intense dream. It'll all resolve itself..." As he rounded a corner, he saw... His house, but it looked much, _much_ newer than he was used to.

"Whoa." Atticus said.

There were bulldozers, construction stuff, the only thing that even looked like home is the entrance. The teenagers looked in disbelief as they saw a sign with a family looking at a house that looked a lot like McFly house with it saying, "Homeland Estates, live in the House of Tomorrow Today". Marty shook his head as he couldn't believe this as he came out a bit.

"Drell... You alive...?" Cherry soon asked the warlock before she put her finger in her mouth to moisten it and soon stuck it in his ear, going underneath his long ebony curls of hair.

Drell twitched in his daze, muttering something. "...Wombat. Alphabet...."

"Well... At least he's alive." Sabrina noted.

"He survived gunshots?" Atticus asked.

"Well, he is pretty strong and magical... The most powerful man in the universe." Patch memorized.

"What's going on...?" Drell asked, rather wearily.

"You got shot." Mo said as her face paled a little.

"I didn't buy it for a second longer than two," Lionel replied. "You're magic. Those things are just like buzzing flies to you."

"They stunned me a bit, but I'll be fine in a minute... Kinda made me a little woozy," Drell said before rubbing his ear. "Why is my ear--"

"Cherry did it!" Atticus said before Cherry could blame someone else.

Cherry glared at him while also looking nervous.

"Oh, don't look at me like that," Atticus replied. "You KNOW you would've just blamed it on someone else so you could try and weasel out of it!"

Drell soon sat up to look at Cherry.

"I-I-I just wanted to s-s-see if you were awake..." Cherry said nervously. "N-N-Nothing malicious, I-I-I pr-pr-promise."

"Well, at least you didn't leave me." Drell replied to them all.

"'Course not!" Lionel replied. "Like we would ever do THAT!"

"Whoa, hey, listen, you gotta help us." Marty ran over to one car urgently.

"Don't stop, Wilbert, drive!" The woman told her husband in the car before he soon drove off.

Marty groaned as that got him nowhere before he came back into the car, trying to get it to start.

"I think you're out of plutonium." Drell said, leaning in.

Marty yelped and punched him in the face by accident as that startled him, but of course, it wouldn't hurt Drell, so he just looked mildly annoyed with the boy. "What the... Who are you?!" he then asked.

Drell looked to the others around him. "I'm their--"

"Uncle!" Atticus quickly said. "Erm... He's our guardian. Sorry, Marty, he must've found the car and fallen asleep."

"Yeah!" Lionel replied. "That would explain it!"

"Hmm... Okay... Uh... Sorry for hitting you." Marty said to the warlock.

"Careful next time." Drell warned, lowering his glasses to show how serious he was.

"Got it." Marty nodded, before glancing at the destination time on the dashboard: 11/5/1955.

The present time also said the exact same date.

"1955... I don't believe it!" Marty exclaimed.

"Then Doc Brown's time machine worked!" Sabrina added.

"And you're out of plutonium... Better hide this out for a while." Drell suggested.

"I think you're right, sir." Marty replied.

"Good idea," Mo nodded. "Maybe we oughta use a camouflage spell... Or some other way."

Marty began to push the DeLorean behind the big sign.

"Or... That..." Atticus shrugged. "I guess that works."

They soon began to get out of their radiation suits as it seemed like they were going to be stuck in 1955 for a while.

"Hey, Drell, can't you use magic to get us back home?" Cherry asked.

"What, and ruin the plot?" Drell replied.

"He's right," Lionel replied. "We could use magic to speed some stuff up, but as long as it's not major."

"I don't know a lot of time-travel spells anyway," Drell replied apologetically. "Sorry, kiddies, but I think we're gonna have to deal with some sci-fi rather than magic..." he then grunted before taking a bullet out of his gut that seemed to be stuck there. "Pfft... People think they can keep me down. I'm going to die someday, and it ain't gonna be any time soon."

"That's fine," Atticus replied. "We can find a way back to the future somehow."

* * *

They soon walked off with Marty, passing by a sign which said "Hill Valley, 2 Miles". It was going to be a long walk indeed as the others began to join in on the journey into the 1950's. The town certainly did look years younger with all the fashions and symbols from the good old days, such as Ronald Reagan being an actor before becoming president and a gas station with various men running out to pump up gas in the car. Some people glanced at the visitors like they didn't belong, though it was probably from how they looked and how they were dressed.

 ** _"Remember, fellas, the future is in your hands. If you believe in progress, re-elect Mayor Red Thomas, progress is his middle name,"_ **An election van announced, passing by them. **_"Mayor Red Thomas's progress platform means more jobs, better education, bigger civic improvements, and lower taxes. On Election Day, cast your vote for a proven leader, re-elect Mayor Red Thomas..."_**

"Well, the more things change..." Lionel remarked. "At least that's still the same."

A newspaper was soon tossed in the trash as they passed by.

Marty soon took the paper out and saw the date: November 5th, 1955, feeling so overwhelmed. "This has _gotta_ be a dream."

They soon made it into a diner which had a telephone, luckily, as Marty decided they had to make a call.

"Davy Crockett... Good times... Good times..." Drell commented on the jukebox's song that was currently playing. "A word of advice: don't mistake him and Daniel Boone for each other."

The group nodded in response.

"Since we're here, we might as well get some food!" Lionel replied. "I am seriously starving!"

They wandered into the diner as a kid around their age was shown to be eating a bowl of cereal.


	9. Chapter 8: The Nifty 50's

"Hey, kid, what you do, jump ship?" A man asked behind the counter to Marty.

"What?" Marty asked him.

"What's with the life preserver?" The man asked, gesturing to his red vest.

"Uh... I just wanna use the phone." Marty replied.

"Yeah, it's in the back." The man gestured for him.

"Thanks, sir!" Lionel replied as they went to use the phone and order food.

Marty decided to use the phone. Drell brought out some money to pay for them all.

"I'd kill for a Whopper... Where's Dave when ya need him, huh?" Cherry muttered about Marty's older brother and his fast-food job.

"Not being born yet." Atticus replied.

"Heh. Very funny." Cherry rolled her eyes.

"Actually, we could just order burgers here." Lionel replied.

"I recommended those for you guys," Drell replied before looking to the man. "Ten burgers and fries with some water."

"Sounds good." The man replied, going to carry out their orders.

"Do you know where 1640 Riverside--" Marty began to ask the diner owner, taking out a page from the phone book.

"Are you gonna order something, kid?" The man asked him, a bit impatiently.

"Yeah, gimme a Tab." Marty soon said.

"Tab?" The man snorted a bit. "I can't give you a tab unless you order something."

"Right, gimme a Pepsi free." Marty then said.

"You wanna Pepsi, pal, you're gonna pay for it." The man scoffed.

"Well, just gimme something without any sugar in it, okay?" Marty then asked.

"Without any sugar." The man snorted before Marty soon sat down next to the boy who had some cereal.

"Well, those burgers are gonna taste pretty good." Atticus remarked.

"I know I'm pretty hungry." Drell said, scratching his stomach a bit.

"Uncle... I know we've had our differences... But I'm kinda glad to see you here." Sabrina said.

"Well, I'm not your uncle yet... Someday though..." Drell said as he flaunted his hair a bit while looking shy and giddy as he suddenly thought about Hilda again.

"Are you blushing?" Cherry asked.

"Huh? Oh, no, no... I'm just... Uh... Thinking about stuff." Drell said bashfully.

"If you say so." Mo replied.

Drell let out a small chuckle as he seemed a bit bouncy all of a sudden since he and Hilda were close again and he even had plans to propose to her when the time was right.

"Hey McFly!" A slightly familiar voice called out from the diner doors, showing a teenage boy who looked familiar. "What do you think you're doing?"

"Biff." Marty muttered to himself.

"Hey I'm talking to you, McFly, you Irish bug." Biff glared, coming toward the other boy who was then shown to be Marty's future father: George.

"Oh, hey, Biff, hey, guys, how are you doing?" George smiled nervously.

"Yeah, you got my homework finished, McFly?" Biff demanded.

"Uh, well, actually, I figured since it wasn't due 'til Monday--

"Hello, hello, anybody home?!" Biff glared, grabbing George and knocking him on the head while his friends laughed. "Think, McFly, think. I gotta have time to recopy it. Do you realize what would happen if I hand in my homework in YOUR handwriting? I'd get kicked out of school. You wouldn't want that to happen would you?"

George hesitated in answering that right away.

"Would you?" Biff repeated sharply.

"Now, of course not, Biff, now, I wouldn't want that to happen." George then said.

"Uh, no, no, no, no," Biff mocked him before glancing at the other teenagers. "What are you looking at, butt-heads?"

The group simply looked on with disgust. 

To their satisfaction, Biff turned away. "So how about my homework, McFly?" He asked, continuing the badgering session.

George shrugged his shoulders, a gesture suggesting both resignation and obedience. "Uh, okay, Biff," he replied. "I'll do it tonight and bring it over first thing tomorrow morning."

Biff nodded coldly. "Not too early," he advised. "I sleep in on Sundays. If ya woke me up, I might hafta mess up your features a little."

George looked scared from that.

"Hey, McFly, you're shoe's untied," Biff soon told George before flicking him in the face with a laugh with his cronies. "Don't be so gullible, McFly."

"Okay." George frowned.

"I don't wanna see you in here again." Biff said as he soon went to leave with his friends.

"Yeah, alright, bye-bye," George said as he went back to eating, though he felt a little distracted as Marty sat right next to him and stared at him in wide wonder and shock. Finally, George gave up and glared towards his future son, of course not knowing who he was. "What?"

"You're George McFly!" Marty replied.

"Yeah, who are you?" George scoffed.

"Say, why do you let those boys push you around like that?" Drell asked George firmly.

"Well, they're bigger than me," George said nervously. "You look a lot bigger than Biff though. You're not gonna hurt me, right?"

"If I wanted to pound you, you'd already be pounded." Drell rolled his eyes.

"That guy's right," A worker agreed as he soon came to help out George. "Stand tall, boy, have some respect for yourself. Don't you know that if you let people walk all over you know, they'll be walking all over you for the rest of your life? Listen to me, do you think I'm gonna spend the rest of my life in this slop house?"

"Watch it, Goldie!" The diner owner told his worker as he walked by.

Marty's eyes widened as he realized who this other man was.

"No, sir, I'm gonna make something out of myself, I'm going to night school and one day I'm gonna be somebody." The worker continued to motivate George.

"That's right, he's gonna be mayor." Marty replied once he knew who this man was.

"Oh, yeah!" Lionel realized. "That guy ends up becoming Mayor of Hill Valley!"

"Yeah, I'm--" The worker continued, revealing to be a young Goldie Wilson before he smiled with strong inspiration. "Mayor... Now that's a good idea. I could run for mayor!"

"A colored mayor, that'll be the day." Lou scoffed to his employee.

"You wait and see, Mr. Caruthers, I will be mayor and I'll be the most powerful mayor in the history of Hill Valley, and I'm gonna clean up this town." Goldie retorted bravely.

"Good, you could start by sweeping the floor." Lou replied, handing him a broom and walked off, giving Drell and the teenagers their burgers.

"Mayor Goldie Wilson..." Goldie smiled to himself as he went back to work. "I like the sound of that."

"You and me both!" Lionel nodded.

Goldie beamed as he began to clean up, taking George's bowl of cereal away as he was done eating.

Marty did a double-take and soon rushed out to catch up with his future father, calling out to him. "Hey Dad, George, hey, you on the bike!" he then called out before running after George.

* * *

Marty ended up taking off into the neighborhood of Sycamore Street with houses built and made during the 1920's and 1930's with white picket fences were everywhere, framing the neat lawns into meticulously edged walkways leading to the doors. It was a much nicer neighborhood than Marty remembered, having grown seedy by the early 1970's. George's bike was shown to be against a tree, though he was nowhere to be seen until a leaf fell from the tree. The others caught up with Marty before they finally found George again. Inside the tree was George who was lying on the branch and using binoculars as he looked out from where he sat. 

"I can't believe it," Marty breathed. "That's the most courageous thing I've ever seen him do."

"And yet, he was all spineless towards Biff," Atticus remarked. "Where'd that kinda courage come from?" He soon found out why George had taken such a risk as his eyes followed George's eyes into the window where a girl was shown to be getting dressed and putting on a training bra. 

"I'll be damned," Lionel muttered, smirking at Marty. "Your dad's a Peeping Tom."

"Huh. You're telling me." Marty huffed a bit.

George scooted a bit closer as he held out his binoculars, though he slipped off the branch and landed down on the road below just as a car was suddenly driving by.

"Dad!" Marty exclaimed, rushing over to push George out of the way only to get hit by the car instead, sending him onto the road, and now unconscious.

"What the--? Who are you?" The man muttered as he got out of his car, looking to George who then ran away before anything else could happen before looking at Marty and yelled out. "Hey, STELLA! Another one of these damn kids jumped in front of my car!" he then called out to his wife. "Come on out here, help me take him in the house."

Lionel winced at that.

"Ooh, hope he's okay." Atticus also winced.

* * *

Marty's head was now cold and he could feel the pressure of something resting on it. 

"Don't go into the light, Marty!" he heard a male voice exclaim.

"I think he's going to be all right," he heard a soft feminine voice say. It was a familiar sound.

"That's a huge relief!" sighed Mo.

"Mom? Is that you?" Marty whispered.

Gentle hands moved the cold object against his forehead, touched his cheeks. "Shh... Everything's going to be all right. You've been asleep for almost nine hours now." It was his mother. 

Marty opened his eyes despite the pain, but all he could see was some silhouettes. The voice had been unmistakable, though. "God, what a terrible nightmare," he said. "I dreamt I went back in time..."

"Well, you're now safe and sound back in good old 1955." The voice smiled.

Marty's eyes shot open in shock. "1955?!"

The light soon came on to show the group of friends along with a very young Lorraine, though she was youthful, Marty could still recognize her.

"You're my ma--... You're my ma--..." Marty stammered to the teenager who was his future mother.

"My name's Lorraine," Lorraine smiled to him as she sat down on the bed with him. "Lorraine Baines."

"Yeah, but you're ho... You're so ho... You're so... Thin." Marty stammered.

"Just relax now, Calvin, you've got a big bruise on you're head." Lorraine coaxed as she looked like she had a schoolgirl crush on her future son.

"Uh... Where are my pants?" Marty asked as he looked under the blanket before covering his legs back once he saw something missing.

"Over there, on my hope chest," Lorraine explained, blushing a bit. "I've never seen purple underwear before, Calvin."

"Calvin?" Marty complained. "Why do you keep calling me Calvin?"

"Well, that's your name, isn't it? Calvin Klein?" Lorraine clarified. "It's written all over your underwear," she then pointed to show him, though that felt even worse and more awkward. "Oh, I guess they call you Cal, huh? I've never seen purple underwear before, much less purple underwear with a man's name written on it."

"Oh," Marty replied. "That isn't my name. Calvin Klein is the name of the underwear manufacturer."

"And your name's Marty?" Lorraine then asked.

"Yes."

"Well, I'm pleased to meet you, Marty." Lorraine said, sitting next to him on the bed as she came off as more seductive and less maternal. 

Sabrina, Atticus, Mo, Patch, Cherry, and Lionel looked at each other, and realized that things would get very uncomfortable very quickly.

"And on that note, I think we should introduce ourselves!" Lionel exclaimed. "Lionel W. Schwartz, pleased to meet you!"

"Um, yeah!" Atticus added. "And I'm Atticus Fudo, this is my girlfriend Mo, my dog, Patch, my best friend Cherry, and our good friend, Sabrina."

"Oh... Hello, there." Lorraine greeted them.

Patch let out a friendly bark.

"Aww... What a cute puppy." Lorraine smiled as she pet the Dalmatian a bit.

Patch smiled back as he jumped up only slightly and licked her face a little to act more like a normal dog.

"Is it okay for me to sit here?" Lorraine then asked Marty.

"Uh, sure." Marty gulped, but even as he said it, be involuntarily moved as far away from her as he could without falling off the bed. He held the blanket tight around his waist, his eyes apprehensive.

Lorraine continued to stare at him, fascinated, apparently oblivious of his nervousness. "That's quite a bruise there." she said finally, reaching out to touch his forehead. 

Marty inched further and further away from her until he yelped and suddenly thumped right off of the bed which made the others look and feel nervous for him.

"Lorraine! Are you up there?" A woman's voice called. 

"My goodness, it's my mother!" Lorraine yelped as she grabbed Marty's pants and tossed them at him. "Here, put your pants back on!"

Marty caught them, covering himself with the blanket before he suddenly fell on the floor again, unable to keep his balance much longer. Cherry turned her head bashfully from seeing Marty in his underwear like that.

"I think you should all come down to dinner." Lorraine suggested.

"Erm... Noted..." Cherry gulped sheepishly.

"Sure, why not?" shrugged Sabrina, as she and the others left to give Marty some time to get redressed.

"Where'd your uncle go this time?" Marty asked, referring to Drell.

"I think he's downstairs with, um, your 'grandparents'." Atticus said as Lorraine was out of earshot for right now.

"Yeah, seems like something he'd do," Cherry shrugged to him. "Seems like on any of our missions involving a family, he'll be with the family to distract them while we deal with our target. No offense, Marty."

"Missions? Target? Are you guys spies?!" Marty asked.

"Well, not really," Lionel replied. "We're adventurers! And our mission is to help YOU! Look, we can talk later."

"How's the patient?" A woman in her 40's asked as she entered the room. Then, looking around, she added: "Where's the patient?"

"Everyone... This is my mother." Lorraine said, tossing Marty his shirt who looked surprised to see his future grandmother. 

Marty put it on from a sitting position. "How do you do?" he smiled.

"Feel up to having something to eat?" Stella offered. 

Marty nodded.

"Then come on downstairs." Stella then told him and the others.

Marty found his shoes, put them on and started out of the room after her and his friends.

* * *

As they walked down the hall, Stella regarded him with a half-smile. "So tell me, Marty, how long have you and your friends been with the circus?" she then asked. 

"Mother! How could you?" Lorraine snorted. 

"The circus?" Marty murmured. "We're not with the circus. What do you mean?"

"Your clothes seem so unusual," Stella remarked. "We thought perhaps you might be with a sideshow."

Marty smiled and shrugged. The green shoes and shirt with U.S. Patent Office facsimile probably did seem unusual to people of 1955, but he couldn't explain his clothes. "I guess we just like strange clothes, ma'am. Sorry." he then apologized. 

"There's no need to apologize," Stella smiled sweetly. "We were just a little curious, that's all."

They entered the living room, where four children and the man of the house, Marty's future grandfather, were relaxing. The gruff man stood next to the black-and-white television set, adjusting the rabbit ears. He didn't look their way until the picture locked in.

"Sam, here's the young man you hit with the car," Stella said, matter-of-factly. "Thank God he's all right."

"What were you doing in the middle of the street, a kid your age?" Sam asked Marty coldly.

"He'd fallen--" Marty began to explain, regarding his future father, but he decided to stop himself as there was no good way to say that without further embarrassment and made something else up. "He'd fallen... In the road," he then continued. "There was this other kid. I rushed over to shove him out of the way. Didn't you see him, sir?"

"Pa never sees anything when he's driving." Lorraine said.

"What are you talking about?" Sam snapped at his teenage daughter. "I'm a damn good driver, but there's nothing a good driver can do when kids jump out in front of him."

"Especially when you're going around the comer on two wheels." Lorraine added.

"By the way," Atticus interjected as he thought about George. "What happened to that other boy?"

"He just got up and left." Sam said.

"I guess he didn't want to get involved." Cherry murmured, thinking how much like George McFly that was.

"Anyways," Sam said, turning once again to the rabbit ears. "Pedestrians got no right to be fooling around in the middle of the street. Any judge'll tell you that."

"Oh, don't mind him," Stella said to Marty and his friends as she led them towards the dining room before calling out to her husband over her shoulder. "He's just in one of his moods." 

"Dads." Cherry and Atticus remarked to themselves from Sam's behavior.

"Hey, little guy." Mo cooed to the baby boy who was in his playpen, wearing a black and white striped shirt, nearly resembling a prisoner's uniform which seemed to be a bit of foreshadowing for his future.

The baby glanced over to her while playing as he tilted his head curiously to her.

"Now let's see, you already know Lorraine, this is Milton, this is Sally, that's Toby, and over there in the playpen is little Baby Joey," Stella introduced her family to the group. "He cries whenever we take him out, so leave him in there all the time. Well, kids, I hope you like meatloaf."

"So, you're my Uncle Joey, huh?" Marty spoke to the baby. "Better get used to these bars, kid."

"Cuz you'll be seein' a _lot_ of 'em for a long, long time..." Lionel added.

"I hope you kids like meatloaf." Stella then said.

"Oh, yes." Marty nodded.

Atticus spoke up. "Actually, Mo is... Well, she doesn't like eating meat." he replied, unsure if they would know what a vegetarian was.

"Sit here, Marty." Lorraine offered, pulling out the chair next to hers.

"Thanks." Marty sat, noting that the plate in front of him was already filled with meatloaf, mashed potatoes, mixed vegetables, and macaroni and cheese. In fact, the dinner was an exact replica of the one he had eaten the night before in 1985.

* * *

Everybody pitched in, except Lorraine, who toyed with her food. Marty wondered when she had made the switch from finicky taster to eating machine.

As the family proceeded, Stella kept yelling instructions and criticism to everyone except Marty and his friends. "Milton, don't eat so fast! Lorraine, you're not eating enough. Have some mashed potatoes... Sally, don't hold your fork like that. You look like somebody who just got off the pickle boat... Don't push everything on the table, Toby... My Goodness ... Sam, would you quit fiddling with that television set? Come in here and eat..." 

Sam still had no intention of giving up television watching during dinner, however. "Look at this," he announced proudly. "I made the dolly myself so we can roll it in the dining room and watch Jackie Gleason while we eat."

"Oh, boy!" Milton exclaimed.

Stella sighed wearily, but at least now her husband would come to tend to his dinner rather than fiddling around with the TV. Sam fiddled with the rabbit ears of the new set, finally managing to bring in a rather muddy image of a cigarette commercial. Atticus, Cherry, Mo, Lionel, Patch, and Sabrina flinched in disgust with the cigarette commercial, even though back in this time, it was considered cool and sexy to smoke.

"Our first television set, Dad just picked it up today," Lorraine told Marty. "Do you have a television?"

"Well, yeah, you know we have two of them." Marty smiled innocently.

"Wow! You must be rich!" Milton beamed in excitement.

"Oh, honey, he's teasing you, nobody has two television sets." Stella cooed to her son.

Everyone then sat down to eat while watching the TV set while Marty saw something rather familiar.

"Hey, hey, I've seen this one, I've seen this one," Marty told the others out of excitement. "This is a classic, this is where Ralph dresses up as the man from space."

"What do you mean you've seen this?" Milton asked, feeling surprised and disturbed. "It's brand new."

"Yeah, well, I saw it on a rerun." Marty defended shallowly.

"What's a rerun?" Milton then asked.

"You'll find out." Marty said uneasily.

"Okay, smarty," Milton then persisted to his future nephew. "Tell me what happens next."

"Sure," Lionel said. "This is a good one. Ralph dresses up as a 'man from space.'"

"Quiet!" Sam ordered. "I want to see this!"

The family was silent for perhaps a minute. 

Then Stella looked at Marty closely. "You know, there's something very familiar about you," she said. "Do I know your mother?"

Marty couldn't help smiling. "Yeah, I think maybe you do," he replied, glancing sideways at Lorraine and smiling weakly.

"I'd like to give her a call," Stella said. "You know, to let her know that you're all right."

"Well, you can't!" Marty blurted.

"Why not?"

"Uh... She's not home yet. Nobody's home."

"She works?"

"Not exactly," Marty hedged. "Uh, both my folks are sort of away, and I'm staying with my friends' uncle until they get back."

"I don't understand--"

"It's all right, Mrs. Baines," Marty assured her. "My mom's used to my staying out late. She won't even miss me."

"You're sure?" Stella looked concerned and curious. 

"Yes, ma'am," Marty nodded. "I could be away for the next 13 years and she wouldn't notice."

Milton seemed to snicker at that remark while eating dinner with his family and guests. 

"Isn't anybody watching this show?" Sam muttered irritably.

Another minute of silence followed. Then, as a new series of commercials started, Marty remembered that he wanted to look up Doc Brown. "Uh, could anybody tell us where Riverside Drive is?" he asked.

"Riverside?" Sam replied. "Sure. It's on the east side of town, a block past Maple."

"A block past Maple?" Marty repeated, puzzled. "But that's JFK Drive..."

"J.F. what?"

"John F. Kennedy Drive."

"...Who the hell is John F. Kennedy?" Sam demanded.

"Uh, never mind."

"Just keep heading east until you come to Maple," Sam instructed. "Then the block after is Riverside."

"Thank you." Marty nodded.

"Thank you so much." Atticus smiled.

"Mother, with Marty's parents out of town, don't you think he oughta spend the night?" Lorraine spoke up hopefully. "After all, Dad almost killed him with the car."

"That's true, Marty, I think you should spend the night," Stella had to agree. "I think you're our responsibility."

"Well, gee, I don't know." Marty stammered a bit.

"And he could sleep in my room." Lorraine suggested, squeezing Marty's knee a bit out of teenage lust.

"I gotta go, uh, I gotta go!" Marty said, rushing out of the chair in urgency as he went for the door. "Thanks very much, it was wonderful, you were all great. See you all later, much later."

The rest of the family watched Marty leave.

"He's a very strange young man." Stella commented.

"He's an idiot, comes from upbringing," Sam grumbled a bit. "His parents were probably idiots too. Lorraine, if you ever have a kid like that, I'll disown you."

Lorraine didn't respond and just had a dreamy look on her face from meeting Marty.


	10. Chapter 9: Finding Doc Brown

Lionel and the others quickly got up and followed Marty out the door.

"Jeez, that was _too_ close for comfort!" Sabrina exclaimed. "Did you _see_ Marty's mom back there?"

"How could I not?" replied Lionel. "She was practically drooling over him! Euugh!"

"I guess at least she doesn't know that's her son... We'd have a Hamlet situation if she did." Cherry replied.

"Oh, Cherry, don't make this situation worse!" Patch grimaced.

"He's right," Atticus remarked. "We gotta go find Doc Brown, and fast!"

"But how are we gonna convince him we're from the future?" asked Mo.

"We'll have to bring something from our time to prove it!" Sabrina replied.

"We do have something from our time... The video!" Cherry suggested.

"Let's go check real quick!" Atticus replied.

The group soon went off as Drell sat with the Baines family, eating dinner with them since the others were gone.

"Are you a giant?" Milton asked him since he was so big and tall.

"...Maybe." Drell replied.

"He's got a big appetite." Sam commented.

"I sure do," Drell smirked as he kept eating before calling out to the group. "You guys go on ahead, I'll catch up with ya later!"

* * *

Eventually, the group arrived at Doc Brown's residence and knocked on the door.

Doc soon answered, while wearing an odd-looking piece of headgear. He turned the switch on, waited for it to warm up, pointed his finger at the teenagers, and said: "Don't say a word."

The kids looked at each other, and shrugged at that, deciding to comply.

They soon went inside, looking around a bit as they settled in.

"Doc?" Marty spoke up.

"I don't wanna know your name!" Doc replied as he began to hook up Marty with his special headgear. "I don't wanna know anything about you."

"Listen, Doc."

"Quiet!"

"Doc, Doc, it's me, Marty."

"Don't tell me anything."

"Doc, you gotta help--"

"Quiet, quiet. I'm gonna read your thoughts," Doc told him before he soon had a guess. "Let's see now, you've come from a great distance?"

"Yeah, exactly." Marty nodded to that.

"Don't tell me!" Doc replied as he continued to guess a bit. "Uh, you want me to buy a subscription to the _Saturday Evening Post_?"

"No." Marty groaned.

"Not a word, not a word, not a word now," Doc scolded before he guessed. "Quiet, uh, donations, you want me to make a donation to the coast guard youth auxiliary?"

"Doc, we're from the future," Marty said, unhooking himself. "We came here in a time machine that _you_ invented. Now, we need your help to get back to the year 1985."

"Incredible," Doc Brown breathed. "My God, do you know what this means?" He paused dramatically, then began to remove the complicated contraption from his head.

"What does it mean?" asked Lionel.

"It means... This damned thing doesn't work at all!" Doc yelled, throwing the machine to the floor.

It broke into several pieces, glass and plastic flying everywhere.

"Six months' labor for nothing!" Doc continued to rant. "Where did I go wrong?"

"Please, Doc," Marty urged. "Forget the mind-reading machine. You're never gonna make it work."

"Who says so?" Doc scoffed, feeling offended. 

" _I_ do. Listen: Your big breakthrough will come with the time travel machine," Marty replied. "Instead of fooling around with that other stuff, you should figure out how the time machine works... Because we need your help. You left us stuck here in 1955."

"What are you talking about, time machine?" Doc demanded. "I haven't invented any time machine."

"No, but you will," Marty said. "And we'll be the first ones to use it, except for your dog Einstein--"

"My dog's name is Copernicus." Doc clarified.

"That figures. You name your pets after great scientists," Marty nodded. "So isn't it logical that some future dog will be named Einstein?"

"Makes some sort of sense," Doc admitted. "But how do I know you're from the future?" he then asked. "There's a lot of folks around here who think I'm a crank and a pest. Maybe they sent you as some kind of twisted joke."

"We're not a joke," Marty replied. "And we can prove it to you," He reached into his pocket and withdrew his wallet. "Look," he said. "Here's my driver's license. Examine the dates on it."

"Sir, please listen to us, I know it sounds strange, but we're telling the truth, and Marty is your best friend," Atticus added. "Uh, Marty, do you have maybe a photograph we could borrow?"

"Yeah, look at this picture, my brother, my sister, and me," Marty said, showing a photograph of himself with his siblings to prove that they were from 30 years into the future. "Look at the sweatshirt, Doc, Class of 1984."

"Pretty mediocre photographic fakery," Doc scoffed at the photograph. "They cut off your brother's hair."

"We're telling you the truth, sir, you gotta believe us." Sabrina added.

"So tell me, 'Future Kids', who's president of the United States in 1985?" Doc smirked, deciding to humor them.

"Ronald Reagan." The group replied.

"Ronald Reagan, the actor?" Doc scoffed and laughed in disbelief as he went to go out the door. "Then who's Vice President, Jerry Lewis? I suppose Jane Wymann is the First Lady!"

"Whoa, wait, Doc!" Marty called out as they ran after him.

* * *

"And Jack Benny is Secretary of the Treasury!" Doc continued as he went for his garage.

"Sir, please, listen!" Cherry begged.

"I've had enough practical jokes for one evening," Doc replied as he went to shut them out. "Good night, Future Kids."

"Wait, sir, listen to me," Cherry spoke up from her very powerful memory. "We know how you got that bruise on your head. You were standing on your toilet and you were hanging a clock, and you fell, and you hit your head on the sink, and that's when you came up with the idea for the flux capacitor, which makes time travel possible."

"What have you been doing; spying on me?" Doc demanded. "Haven't I even got privacy in the bathroom? When I sit down now, do I have to worry about some idiots with binoculars looking at me?"

"No, we didn't spy on you," Marty assured him. "In 1985, you told us about this morning. You said after the fall, you had a sort of vision about the flux capacitor, which is the heart of the time machine."

Doc paused thoughtfully as he had to admit that they had a pretty good point in what they were saying to him. It even made him do some thinking about himself as well. 

"Doc, how else could we know that unless we were from the future?" Marty then asked. 

"You could be mind readers." Doc shrugged. 

"Yes, but we're not," Atticus shook his head. "We're just mostly-ordinary kids you happened to confide in. You have to believe us!"

"Where is this time machine now?" Doc soon asked as he actually listened to them at that time. 

"This way..." Cherry said as she went to lead the way.

* * *

They went over to the DeLorean where they had hidden it away from the public which was luckily still where they left it.

"Something's wrong with the starter, so we hid it." Marty said once they made it over.

"After I fell off my toilet, I drew this." Doc said, pointing out to a familiar-looking image.

"Flux capacitor." Marty replied before turning it on, with what he could since the time machine car was a bit busted at the moment.

"It works... It works! Hahaha!" Doc laughed happily. "I finally invent something that works."

"Bet your butt it works." Sabrina smiled.

"Well, now we gotta sneak this back into my laboratory," Doc told the teenagers urgently. "We've gotta get you home."

"Darn right we do!" Lionel replied.

* * *

They soon went into the garage as Marty took out the video camera to show Doc something else to find out about what else they needed.

"We need... Something... I can't think of what right now..." Cherry paused.

"We'll watch on this," Marty said before hooking up the camera to the TV. "Okay, Doc, this is it."

 ** _"Never mind that, never mind that now, never mind that, never mind--"_** TV Doc spoke to the camera once they were hooked up.

"Why, that's me, look at me, I'm an old man!" Doc said in astonishment.

 ** _"Good evening, I'm Dr. Emmett Brown, I'm standing here on the parking lot of--"_ **TV Doc continued.

"Thank God I still got my hair," Doc smiled before looking curious. "What on Earth is that thing I'm wearing?"

"Well, this is a radiation suit." Atticus replied.

"Radiation suit, of course, 'cuz all of the fall out from the Atomic Wars," Doc then said. "This is truly amazing, a portable television studio. No wonder your president has to be an actor, he's gotta look good on television."

"Sure, why not?" shrugged Mo as the tape continued to play.

"Whoa, this is it," Marty said as he remembered this now. "This is the part coming up, Doc."

 ** _"No, no, no, this sucker's electrical, but I need a nuclear reaction to generate the 1.21 gigawatts of electricity--"_ **TV Doc said.

"What did I just say?" Doc asked.

Marty then rewound that part back so they could hear it again.

 ** _"No, no, no, this sucker's electrical, but I need a nuclear reaction to generate the 1.21 gigawatts of electricity that I need."_** TV Doc repeated.

"Gigawatts, that was it." Cherry then said.

"1.21 gigawatts?! 1.21 gigawatts!" Doc flipped out. "Great Scott!"

"What the hell is a gigawatt?!" Marty tried to ask him.

"Measure of energy." Lionel replied.

"What he said." Atticus added.

"How could I have been so careless?" Doc groaned a bit to himself. "1.21 gigawatts. Damn... How am I gonna generate that kind of power? It can't be done, it can't."

"Doc, look, all we need is a little plutonium." Marty replied.

"I'm sure that in 1985, plutonium is available at every corner drug store, but in 1955, it's a little hard to come by," Doc rolled his eyes a bit in regret. "Guys, I'm sorry, but I'm afraid you're all stuck here."

"Whoa, whoa, Doc, stuck here, I can't be stuck here," Marty panicked. "I got a life in 1985. I got a girl."

"Is she pretty?" Doc gave a small smile.

"Doc, she's beautiful. She's crazy about me. Look at this, look what she wrote me, Doc," Marty said, showing the flyer that had Jennifer's note with her grandmother's phone number on it before he had to leave her. "That says it all. Doc, you're our only hope."

"Guys, I'm sorry, but the only power source capable of generating 1.21 gigawatts of electricity is a bolt of lightning," Doc replied. "And not a minor-league bolt, either. It would have to be a real wall-shaker, something big enough to stop a clock." he continued.

"Stop... A clock...!" Lionel realized, snapping his fingers.

"Ah! You've had an idea, but you forgot to say 'Eureka!'" Doc clarified. 

"Maybe it's not a Eureka-type idea," Lionel replied. "It just occurred to me that if we could use a lightning bolt for energy--"

"A reasonable thought and quite practical except for one thing," Doc interrupted, "You never know when or where a bolt of lightning is going to strike. Of course, you've got a start by waiting for an electrical storm, but even then there's no assurance a bolt will even get close enough to use as a power source."

Marty waited patiently for him to finish, then smiled. "Except that we know when and where a bolt of lightning is going to strike." he then said to the older man. 

"You do?" Doc asked.

"We do indeed." Marty nodded.

Cherry turned over the piece of paper on which Jennifer had written her note. It was the flyer given them by the lady for the 1985 clock tower preservation campaign. At the very top of the sheet was a replica of the 1955 newspaper headline which read: clock tower struck by lightning, the clock stopped at 10:04. Underneath was the date: Sunday, November 13, 1955. Now it was the genius's turn to snap his fingers.

"Eureka?" Atticus asked.

"Eureka, yes," Doc replied, nodding several times. "You're right! This is it! This is the answer! Since the newspaper came out on Sunday, it means that the clock tower will be struck next Saturday night. If we could somehow harness this lightning... Channel it into the flux capacitor... It just might work..." he then informed. 

"Ya hear that, guys?" asked Mo. "We got a chance to get home!"

Patch soon began to cheer out in victory and happiness. Marty and Doc soon looked to the Dalmatian with wide eyes.

"Um... Woof?" Patch smiled sheepishly.

"Ventriloquism!" Lionel chuckled, holding up a book. "Pretty good, eh?"

"Ah, yes," Doc replied. "I believe you're a Howdy Doody fan."

"Yeah, sure!" Lionel nodded, inwardly sighing in relief. That was TOO close.

Patch also sighed in relief as now he could relax since that was taken care of, though Copernicus looked to him very curiously. Cherry took a look at Marty's photograph as everyone celebrated.

"Cherry, we can make it back home... You okay?" Atticus asked.

"Dave..." Cherry's face paled.

"Yeah, we'll see Dave, Linda, Hilda, Zelda, and--" Atticus replied before she shoved the photograph in his face which made his face pale. "Dave... W-What's happening to him?!"

"He's fading!" Lionel yelped. "Something must be wrong with the timeline!"

"His head's gone!" Marty added. "It's like it's been erased. "

"Erased from existence..." Doc replied mysteriously.

Sabrina let out a very thick swallow which resulted in a big 'gulp'.

"And unless we can get Lorraine and your dad together, you'll go next!" Mo said to Marty.

"You've met your parents?" Doc asked Marty.

"Heh... Sorta...?" Marty replied nervously. "Why? Is that bad?"

"Anything you do could have serious replications on future events," Doc advised. "Do you understand?"

"Yeah, sure." Marty replied.

"What do we do now though?" Sabrina asked. "We can't stay here the whole time until the storm."

"Well, like I said, we have to ensure that Lorraine and George become a couple," Lionel replied. "And to do that, we're gonna need to blend in with the time period!"

"Exactly what I was thinking." Drell's voice said behind them.

Cherry yelped and punched him in the face, making him react, but not get hurt, though he glared at her. "Oops... S-Sorry..." She said nervously, stepping back.

"Heh... Not a bad hit," Drell smirked as he held her fist a bit. "Maybe you could brawl against some bad guys some time like in those video games you kids are so fond of."

"Uh, do you happen to have clothes we can borrow?" Mo soon asked Doc.

"I'll have to check my closet for you guys." Doc replied.

"Great! You do that!" Atticus replied. "Drell, you think you could help Cherry and Mo since Doc most likely won't have any female clothes?"

"Hmm... I might know a spell or two for that..." Drell replied, scratching his chin a bit.

"Do we _have_ to wear dresses?" Cherry asked.

"Yeah!" Mo added. "I like these clothes."

"Sorry, girls, but it's the rules of this timeline, I'll try not to go with anything humiliating like, say, Lucille Ball... Come here, line 'em up!" Drell soon said, gesturing for the girls to follow him for some 1950's clothing.

Cherry, Sabrina, and Mo sighed and followed Drell as Lionel, Atticus, and Marty got ready for their 50's clothing. Doc soon checked his closet and luckily, he seemed to have enough clothes, but for the boys as the girls would be on their own.

* * *

"Fashionista Presto Chango!" Drell recited, zapping the girls into some appropriate clothing to fit in with the decade since their clothing in this time period would look out of place, especially since Cherry and Mo were dressed a lot like boys.

Sabrina glanced at her hairdo. "Huh... At least the headband looks good," she replied, fluffing her hair. "You two look nice!" she replied to Cherry and Mo.

"Thanks, I guess..." Cherry said, checking out her outfit which was mostly a black shirt with a blue skirt and a matching neckerchief.

"Ugh... I look like a girl!" Mo sulked about having to wear a skirt.

"But you are a girl." Patch said to her once they were separated from Doc and Marty.

"Not the point!" Mo sulked.

"I did what I could," Drell said as he looked to Sabrina's dark blue dress with a black belt around her waist. "Though your hair nearly looks white in this light. Reminds me of Judy Jetson. Oops!" he then cupped his mouth.

"Who?" Cherry and Mo asked.

"No one! I didn't say that!" Drell replied.

Cherry and Mo shrugged at that. "Probably not important." they replied.

"Phew..." Drell wiped his forehead in relief. "And I thought that McFly kid was gonna be the one to screw the timestream."

The girls soon came back to see the boys, all now wearing their appropriate clothes.

"Oh... Mo... You look kinda cute in that dress..." Atticus gave a polite smile.

"I do...?" Mo blushed.

"Well, I think so," Atticus smiled to her, blushing a bit himself. "I think you look cute in anything you wear."

Upon seeing Cherry, Lionel did a double-take, his jaw dropped and tongue rolled out, then he beat his chest like Tarzan, hooted like a chimpanzee, and howled like a particularly happy wolf while stomping his foot.

"...Are you having a panic attack?" Cherry asked.

Doc and Marty both looked disturbed and surprised by Lionel's reaction to Cherry's little makeover.

Lionel groaned. "NO! I was saying you look amazing!" he exclaimed. "Like in those Tex Avery cartoons with that wolf guy! Cripes!"

"It's just... I never expected anybody to look at me that way before..." Cherry replied. "Still adjusting to your feelings for me."

"She doesn't like me back, does she?" Lionel asked Atticus.

"Give her time," Atticus advised. "This is still kinda new to her. I'm sure she'll warm-up to you eventually."

"I hope you're right..." Lionel sighed. "I'm not being subtle about it, and yet she doesn't get it! Whaddo I hafta do, paint a frickin' picture?!"

"Give it sometime." Atticus advised.

"I'll try..." Lionel said.

"You look like you stepped out of a _Sears_ catalog." Cherry smirked to Atticus.

"You look like you should be singing about Sunshine and Lollipops." Atticus retorted.

"Jerk." Cherry kept her smirk.

"I know you are, but what am I?" retorted Atticus.

"Knock it off, you two," said Lionel. "Or else I'll report you both to the principal."

"Sorry, Lionel." Cherry and Atticus murmured before snickering to each other.

"Those two..." Lionel sighed.

"So... What do we do now?" Marty soon asked.

"Go back to school." Doc told him.

"All of you." Drell added to his adventure students.

"Why?" Marty then asked.

"Because you're a kid. Kids go to school," Doc said like it was obvious. "Your parents are kids. They go to school. You interfered in your parents' relationship. Therefore, you have to go to school to fix the damage you did."

"Can't we just hang 'round before and after classes?" Marty asked, a bit stubbornly. "I mean, school was boring in 1985. When I think how dull 1955 will be, it blows my mind."

"Well, now that Lorraine knows you, she's crazy about ya," Lionel shuddered. "We gotta get her to like George _and_ teach him to grow a backbone while we're here, at least."

"Yes, you can't afford to fool around right now," Doc added. "There's less than a week we have to work with, right?"

Marty nodded.

"So you have to use every available minute to get them together," Doc then said. "Otherwise, you won't exist in the future. It's as simple as that," He stepped back to look at Marty's new outfit. "Not bad," he said. Reaching into the shopping bag, he pulled out a final purchase: a bottle of Vaseline hair tonic.

As soon as he unscrewed the top, Marty curled his lip. "Look, Doc," he murmured. "I'll admit that these threads are pretty cool, but you're not putting that greasy shit in my hair."

"Marty, a lot of kids wear this in this time." Cherry told him.

"It looks terrible," Marty defended. "And who knows what it contains? I mean, it might give me cancer."

"You need it for your disguise," Doc said. With that, he started combing some of it into Marty's hair. "Don't worry about it," he said. "This is supposed to very fashionable, for both kids and grown-ups."

"Just put up with it for about... Oh... Say... 30 years." Cherry teased Marty.

"Haha, very funny." Marty retorted as Lionel shoved his hand in and pulled out a fistful before using it to style his hair like gel.

"Oh, yeah, baby; I am way too cool!" Lionel exclaimed, striking a few poses and winking.

"Mm... I guess I better use some of that too..." Atticus said before putting on some hair gel.

"Now... Who are you exactly?" Doc asked Drell.

"I'm... Erm... Their guardian..." Drell replied innocently. "I look after them and take them places while their parents are busy. I'm... Sabrina's uncle."

"Is this true?" Doc asked, feeling suspicious from Drell's explanation.

"Y-Yes... He is." Sabrina replied, even if Drell and Hilda weren't technically married right now.

"Yep! He and Sabrina's aunt Hilda are together!" Lionel replied. "By the way, her other aunt, Zelda happens to be single." he whispered. "So... Yeah, just in case."

Doc looked a little perplexed at the mention of Zelda, not sure what to make of her just yet as he didn't know her. Marty soon looked in the mirror at his new look, giving a little spin.

"What do you think?" Mo asked as she flattened down her skirt a bit.

"If I'm gonna go through with this, at least I'm gonna look like Elvis." Marty said as he took a look.

"Elvis?" Doc asked. "What's Elvis'?"

"You'll find out." Marty murmured.

"Comes around in the 60's: King of Rock & Roll," Lionel replied. "Don't worry about it."

"All right, it looks like you're all set," Drell said. "Dr. Brown, please allow me to come with you to escort the children to school. It's usually my job."

"You must be a very loyal uncle." Doc commented.

"I really try." Drell replied before giving a small smile to Sabrina.

Sabrina grinned sheepishly to him since he made her feel nervous, but she always tried to get along with him since he and Hilda were dating again and he would become her uncle very soon if it all worked out in the end.

"I don't know what we're going to do with you because kids don't have book bags in this decade for you to hide in with Atticus, you might have to stay here with Copernicus." Atticus pouted to his dog.

Patch whimpered and whined about not going to school with Atticus since he usually snuck in with him.

"Patch Fudo-Dearly, don't you whimper at me like that," Atticus remarked. "Look, it'll only be for a little while, alright?"

Patch let out a small sigh. "All right..." he then whispered. "You be okay, all right?"

"I'll be fine," Atticus smiled. "You'll see. This is only temporary, I promise."

Patch and Atticus soon shared a hug.

"Ah, there's no bond like a boy and his dog," Doc smiled from that. "Like that boy Timmy with Lassie."

"Yeah, real touchin', I'm gettin' all misty-eyed," Lionel replied, wiping his eyes quickly. "Now let's get rollin' already, okay? We gotta get this plan working fast!"

"Let's do it, ladies." Drell smirked as he leaned over the kids, grabbing them in his arms as he looked back and forth to them a bit.


	11. Chapter 10: Fast Times at Hill Valley High

Eventually, they came over to the high school, in their new disguises, and Drell and Doc also had their own disguises as they checked out the educational establishment.

"Whoa! They really cleaned this place up," Marty commented. "It looks brand new."

"Maybe your generation didn't take very good care of it." Doc remarked acidly.

"Okay, so what's the plan again?" Cherry asked.

"Now remember, according to my theory you interfered with your parent's first meeting," Doc warned Marty specifically. "If they don't meet, they won't fall in love, they won't get married and they won't have kids. That's why your older brother's disappearing from that photograph. Your sister will follow and unless you repair the damages, you'll be next."

Marty winced. "That sounds pretty heavy..." he remarked.

"Weight has nothing to do with it." replied Doc.

Cherry let out a small anime sweat-drop. They entered the school that was familiar and yet so different in the group's eyes. The halls and classrooms looked basically the same but the atmosphere was totally different; it resembled something from an old movie, except that it was in color.

"Which one's your pop?" Doc asked Marty.

"That's him." Marty pointed out.

A group of bullies laughed as they terrorized George who had a 'Kick Me' sign on his back.

"Okay, you guys. Oh, very funny," George scoffed to his bullies. "You guys are being real mature."

"Maybe you were adopted." Drell said to Marty.

"If he WAS, then he wouldn't be in danger of fading from existence, now WOULD he?" retorted Lionel.

"It hasn't happened to him yet." Drell shrugged.

"I love your logic." Cherry deadpanned.

"Real mature guys," George told the bullies. "You pick up my books."

A familiar face soon appeared. "McFly."

"That's Strickland," Marty realized. "Jesus, didn't that guy ever have hair? "

"Shape up, young man. You're a slacker!" Strickland glared to George. "You wanna be a slacker for the rest of your life?"

"No?" George frowned.

"What'd your mother see in that kid anyway?" asked Doc in disbelief.

"I don't know, Doc, I guess she felt sorry for him 'cuz her dad hit him with the car..." explained Marty, until he realized what had happened. "...Hit _me_ with the car."

"That's a Florence Nightingale effect," explained Doc. "It happens in hospitals when nurses fall in love with their patients. Go to it, kids."

"Come on, don't be scared..." Drell added, shoving his group in there with Marty a bit.

"Hey George, buddy, we have been looking all over for you," Marty said, going up to his future father with the group as Doc and Drell stayed out of it. "You remember me? The guy who saved your life the other day?"

"Oh, yeah." George nodded.

"Good, there's somebody we'd like you to meet," Marty said, bringing his future father over to his future mother. "Lorraine?"

"Calvin!" Lorraine gasped at the sight of her future son who she had a crush on.

"We'd like you to meet our good friend, George McFly." Atticus smiled to the girl.

"Hi. It's really a pleasure to meet you." George smiled to Lorraine, trying to sound cool.

"How's your head?" Lorraine asked Marty, more interested in him of course.

"Uh, fine." Marty replied as George began to escape.

"Oh, I've been so worried about you ever since you ran off the other night. Are you okay?" Lorraine asked Marty before the bell then rang which summoned her to go off with her friends. "I'm sorry I have to go," she then smiled to her friends. "Isn't he a dreamboat?"

"Well, that was a bust." remarked Sabrina as she and the others came back.

"Doc, she didn't even look at him!" Marty exclaimed.

"This is more serious than I thought," replied Doc. "Apparently your mother is amorously infatuated with you instead of your father."

Marty did a double-take. "Whoa, wait a minute, Doc... Are you telling me that my mother has got the hots for me?" he then asked, feeling more and more disgusted as he uttered that question out of his mind. 

"To put it simply: ding-ding-ding, we got a winner!" Lionel replied.

"Aw, I was gonna say that." Drell smirked.

"Want me to let you?" Lionel asked.

"Nah, it's okay," Drell replied. "This reminds me of Hamlet and Queen Gertrude, only... That was intentional."

"Hamlet and Queen Gertrude are real people?" Atticus asked.

"Huh? Oh, no, no," Drell replied. "I auditioned for a play on _Hamlet_ when I was much younger."

"Ugh... This is still heavy." Marty groaned about his mother having a crush on him.

"There's that word again; heavy," Doc commented, not realizing that Marty was using slang. "Why are things so heavy in the future? Is there a problem with the Earth's gravitational pull?"

"What?" Marty glanced at him.

"It's 80's slang." Mo replied.

"The only way we're gonna get those two to successfully meet is if they're alone together," explained Doc. "So you've got to get your father and mother to interact at some sort of social--"

"What, you mean like a date?" asked Marty.

"Right." Doc nodded. 

"What kind of date?" asked Marty. "I don't know, what do kids do in the 50's?"

"Well, somebody doesn't read Archie comics." Lionel replied.

Marty rolled his eyes a bit from that.

"Think, Marty!" Atticus said. "Surely you remember something your parents talked about at the dinner table."

"Yes, they're your parents, you must know them," Doc agreed. "What are their common interests, what do they like to do together?"

"Nothing." Marty shrugged.

"Look, there's a rhythmic ceremonial ritual coming up." Doc then pointed out to a poster that seemed to show them an answer.

"Of course! The Enchantment Under The Sea Dance!" Marty realized. "They're supposed to go to this. That's where they kiss for the first time."

"All right, kid, you stick to your father like glue and make sure that he takes her to the dance." Doc then told Marty.

"Eh, you got it, Doc!" Lionel replied, imitating Mel Blanc as Bugs Bunny.

"We'll try around lunchtime so we have time to talk." Sabrina suggested.

"That might work, Brina, let's hope it does then," Cherry said. "Let's get to class. Um... We do go to class, right?" she then asked.

"Yeah, pretty much," Lionel replied. "But we'll most likely skip to the next scene, located in the cafeteria."

"Skip to the next scene...?" Marty asked out of confusion.

"Watch this, I saw this in _Looney Tunes_." Lionel said, picking up a piece of the scene like flipping a page in a book that soon showed the cafeteria.

* * *

Everyone blinked as they were now in the cafeteria.

"I don't even know how that happened." Mo blinked.

"It's Toon Logic," replied Lionel. "If you try to overthink it without understanding it, you get the granddaddy of all migraines!"

George McFly entered the cafeteria, found himself a table in the comer, and began eating his lunch. For a few minutes, he just read; then he took out a pad and pencil and started writing as he finished his sandwich. Marty, Lionel, Cherry, Mo, and Atticus sauntered over to him. He barely noticed them as they pulled up chairs and sat at the same table.

"Hi, George," Marty said after a while. "What are you writing?"

"Stories." George replied quietly and simply. 

"Any particular kind?"

"Yeah."

"What kind?"

"Science-Fiction."

"That's interesting. I didn't know you were into that," replied Sabrina. "What's it about, people visiting strange and faraway planets?"

"No. As a matter of fact, it's about visitors from other planets coming to Earth." George clarified.

"Sounds rather promising," Cherry commented. "Mind if I take a look?"

"No, no," George stopped her nervously. "I never let anybody read my stories."

"Why not?" The group asked.

"Well, what if they didn't like them? What if they told me I was no good?" George replied. "I guess that would be pretty hard for somebody to understand."

Cherry gave a look as she seemed to think very hard about that, especially with what was known as the writing process. Lionel gently patted her on the shoulder.

"No, George," Marty replied sincerely as he began to understand and feel his future father's anxieties into making more sense and wanted to help him out. "It's not that hard at all. Listen, George," he then said, changing the subject. "You know that girl we introduced you to--"

"Lorraine." George said knowingly. 

"Yeah," Marty nodded. "She really likes you."

George shook his head.

"It's true," Marty persisted, and the others chimed in with their responses.

"I don't believe it," George groaned. "She didn't even look at me. I felt invisible."

"Buddy, I know the feeling." Lionel nodded.

Cherry seemed to stare off into space while attempting to eat some soup that she had for lunch. She didn't mean to ignore Lionel like this, it was just her way of thinking about something that was thrust upon her, but luckily for him, it would turn around sooner or later. As they were discussing her, Lorraine and some of her girl friends walked into the cafeteria. She did not see either of the group. George soon noticed the girl of his dreams and suddenly looked scared to death as he hid away with his notepad to avoid being seen.

"We're serious though," Atticus said. "Lorraine likes you."

"She told us to tell you that she wants you to ask her to the Enchantment Under The Sea Dance." Marty then added.

"Really?!" George's eyes lit up instantly.

"Oh, yeah, all you gotta do is go over there and ask her." Cherry suggested.

"What, right here right now in the cafeteria?" George asked, suddenly panicked again. "What if she said no? I don't know if I could take that kind of rejection. Besides, I think she'd rather go with somebody else."

"Who?" Marty asked.

George gave a small frown about the school bully who advanced towards Lorraine as he gave them the answer, "Biff."

Marty's face paled as this started to make more sense about why his father was the way he was in 1985. Not to mention the idea of his mother having anything to do with a man like Biff Tannen was simply sickening and not just to him. "I don't think so." he then said, hoping to help strengthen his father.

"He's with her now." George replied.

Marty looked across at Lorraine's table. Standing behind her with his hands on her shoulders was Biff. Lorraine looked repulsed and disgusted with Biff, but that just kept him advancing to her. 

"He's there, but I don't think she wants him there." Atticus said.

Marty soon got up and walked across the cafeteria until he was close to Lorraine's table.

* * *

"Quit pawing me, Biff!" Lorraine complained, but tried not to sound too loud that the others would notice. "Leave me alone!" 

"Come on, Lorraine!" Biff called out loudly and obnoxiously as he kept advancing on her. "You want it, you know you want it, and you know you want me to give it to you."

"Well, that was as subtle as a train crash." Lionel snorted.

"You shut your filthy mouth," Lorraine glared at Biff. "I'm not that kind of girl!"

"Well, maybe you are and you just don't know it yet." Biff smirked.

"Get your meat hooks off of me." Lorraine scowled.

"You heard her, she said get your meat hooks--" Marty said, grabbing a hold of Biff's shoulder, but looked startled at how big the bully really was, though he did his best to not show any fear. "Off, please."

"So what's it to you, butthead?" Biff huffed, about to strike Marty now. "You know you've been looking for a--"

Strickland was soon shown in the cafeteria which made the bully freeze up a bit.

"Heh..." Biff chuckled to him before looking innocently to Marty. "Since you're new here, I'm gonna cut you a break... Today. So why don't you make like a tree, and get out of here?" he then suggested.

"Wow, you butchered the easiest joke ever," Lionel snorted. "Clearly you're a regular smarty-pants."

Biff just turned away and walked off while Lorraine still had love in her eyes for Marty, who did not notice or see Mr. Strickland who sent a firm look towards the school bully. 

"Oh, Marty!" Lorraine cried. "That was so wonderful! Thank you!" Marty shrugged.

"What did you say your name was?" The voice was the familiar rasp of Mr. Strickland, who was now at Marty's side. 

Marty coughed, looked into the eyes which resembled a pair of slit trenches. "Marty..." he said.

"Last name?"

"Uh... Brown."

"Well, here's some friendly advice for you, Mr. Uh-Brown," Mr. Strickland advised sharply. "Don't slack off in my school."

"Slack off, sir?" Marty murmured, his tone questioning.

"In the vernacular, that means don't screw around," Strickland said. "Understand?"

"Yes, sir," Marty nodded. "And thank you, sir."

Strickland turned and marched away just as the bell rang. Lorraine hopped up, collected her books, and ran over to Marty. All the adventure group could do was watch this.

"Thanks again, Marty," Lorraine smiled. "Maybe I'll see you later?" It sounded more like a prayer than a suggestion.

Marty nodded and pretended he was late for class. The group soon followed after him to find Doc and Drell.

"George disappeared from the cafeteria." Cherry said while panting a bit since she had to run.

"He said he had a class," Doc explained." "But he looked like he was getting ready to have a good cry, if you ask me."

"This is getting ridiculous." Marty murmured.

"That's the way life is, my boy. Try to be a hero or impress somebody and everything goes wrong," Doc advised. "But when you're not trying, you can fall down the toilet and come up with gold."

"Yeah." Marty replied.

"So what's next?" asked Drell.

"I guess we just have to keep after George. He's the key," replied Mo. "Until we can get him to ask for the date, nothing'll happen."

"Maybe we can get your mother to ask him?" Doc suggested to Marty.

"No. That won't work." said Marty.

"How do you know?" asked Drell.

"Because girls in 1955 never asked guys for dates. At least that's what Mom says," replied Marty. "They never called them on the phone, asked them out, or did anything that was fun until the boy thought of it."

"...Well, that's stupid." said Drell.

"We'll grab him again after school," Lionel said. "It's the only thing we can do.''

"You know, it might be better if you took a shot at him alone," Doc suggested as he nodded. "It could be he feels cramped with all of us around, particularly since I'm an old guy of 35."

"Maybe you're right." Marty shrugged.

"I'm gonna go back and study those tapes you made," Doc said. "They may tell me something I need to know about how the time machine runs. If we're gonna blast you back to '85 Saturday night. I'll have to know everything possible about that boat and how she operates."

The others soon watched Doc get going.

"I know he's not a lot of help right now, but guys, I'm really glad to see Doc right now." Marty said.

"You two were pretty close in 1985, huh?" Atticus asked.

"Oh, totally," Marty replied. "The best of friends."

"How did that even happen?" Atticus asked. "Uh, if you don't mind us asking?"

"Well... Ya know, back home, he's always been talked about," Marty explained. "They always said he was dangerous and a crackpot. I was like 13 or 14-years-old, I decided to go see what was so bad about him. When I got there, I was a little scared, but once I met the Doc and hung out with him, he seemed pretty cool. We became good friends, and he offered me some part-time jobs like helping with experiments or taking care of Einstein for him. We've been best buds ever since."

"Huh," Lionel remarked. "An inter-generational friendship... That's pretty damn cool."

* * *

The afternoon went slowly. Marty and the others wandered around the halls, did some reading in the library, and spent the last period looking in classrooms for George McFly. When they finally located him, they leaned against the wall until Marty's future father came out. George soon noticed Marty and the group and went to try to avoid them as he felt like they were just put on this Earth to harass them while they only had good intentions on following after him.

"Hiya," Marty said. "We're sorry that thing in the cafeteria turned out the way it did."

"Me too," George replied. "That Biff Tannen is a real jerk. I hated to see him paw Lorraine that way. If only I'd had the--" he then sighed suddenly, unable to find the right word for what he needed to stand up for himself. "This is gonna be a tough day for me all around." he then finally said.

"How so?" Cherry asked as she and the others followed him.

"Well, first there was my chickening out with Lorraine." George began.

"I wouldn't say you chickened out," Marty soothed. "It was more a matter of--"

"No, I chickened out," George retorted, a hint of real anger in his voice. "I really wanted to rush over and ask Lorraine for a date. And then when Biff was pawing her. I wanted to run over and sock him on the jaw. But I chickened out in both cases. I couldn't move."

Marty stopped as he couldn't think of a way to respond to that.

"And now I gotta talk to Dad about college." George continued.

"What's so awful about that?" Sabrina asked. 

"He'll say it's no good. You know, give me all the reasons why I shouldn't go," Geroge sulked. "And I'll believe him and end up not going."

"Sounds like a self-fulfilling prophecy to me." Marty observed.

"What?" George asked. 

"You oughta stand up for what you believe in," Marty advised. "What do you want to major in at college?"

"I'd kind of like to study writing or journalism," George explained as he looked very hopeful. "Writing those stories is about the most fun I have. If I could learn to make a living doing something like that..."

"Then tell your father that." Atticus advised.

"Oh, no. He'd laugh if I mentioned the stories," George replied. "The idea of college is terrible enough."

"Well, anyway," Marty urged, "You gotta fight. Stand up to him."

"I will," George replied. "This is important to my future so I'll do it."

* * *

They soon arrived at the house with a placard hanging from the porch. It read The McFly's. A bit tacky for 1985, but probably chic for 1955, at least, that's what Marty thought. A man was shown was outside, waxing the car. He waved his rag as the young group approached

"Go and talk to him right away." Mo urged.

"About what?" George asked.

"About college." Marty reminded.

"I'll get to that," George replied. "I've gotta introduce you first."

"No, George, you gotta tell him about college," Sabrina replied. "Right. Now."

"Sure..." George said hesitantly. He walked over to his father, known as Arthur McFly, looked back over his shoulder at Marty. 

The others stayed close behind to help George earn some reassurance and confidence in speaking with his father about college. 

"Who're your friends?" Arthur asked his son. 

"A few new kids from school," George replied. "Listen, Dad, I have an important decision to make and, well, I really need some advice."

Marty and the others waited quietly and hopefully. 

"Gee, son, I'm kinda busy here," Arthur soon said. "Couldn't it wait a few days?"

"Not really," George replied. "You see. I've filled out an application for college and the deadline for sending it in is midnight tonight. I can't decide whether l should send it in."

Marty shook his head as he thought that sounded too wishy-washy. 

"Well, if you want my advice, I'd say no," Arthur then said to George. "College is hard, son. And there's a lot of competition to get in. You'd be competing with the smartest kids in the state. Why would you want to put yourself through that kind of aggravation?" he then asked. 

"Well, I might get in." George responded as confidently as possible, though his confidence sounded non-existent. 

"Son, you're a longshot and most of the time, longshots don't work out," Arthur said. "The chances of you getting into college are mighty slim."

"Why?" George asked.

"Why, son? Because you've never done anything like that before. You're just kinda average," Arthur clarified. "Now if you send this application in and get all excited about it, what's gonna happen when they turn you down? I'll tell you what: you'll mope around the house, feeling rejected, and maybe your marks at school will suffer. If you want to know what I think, I suggest you go about your business and forget this whole thing."

Instead of fighting back, George waited a long moment and then nodded. "Yeah, Dad, that makes sense," he soon said, which the others could overhear. "Thanks."

It was too much for Marty. He sighed and put his head in his hands.

* * *

Meanwhile, Arthur put the finishing touches to George's ambitions with a rationale for failure disguised as homespun philosophy. "When you get to be my age, son," he said, "you'll realize that certain things just aren't meant to be."

"Yeah, I guess that's right." George murmured.

Marty started to walk away.

"What do you think of the car, son?" Arthur soon asked George. "Looks pretty good, eh?"

"Looks real good, Dad." George nodded calmly. 

To add insult to injury on Marty and the others, it began to pour down raining and Marty broke into a fast trot with the others as Lionel conjured an umbrella and held it over Cherry's head to keep her dry.

"Good," Marty said as he ran. "I hope the rain spoils his wax job."

The group soon made it back to Doc's garage/laboratory as Marty was still a bit irked with his father's behavior while Doc continued to watch the video tape the kids loaned him while working on something else as the kids came by.

 ** _"Oh, my God, they found me. I don't know how, but they found me. Run for it, kids!"_ **Doc on the TV said. **_"Oh, my God, they found me. I don't know how, but they found me. Run for it, kids!_**

"Dr. Brown?" Atticus called out.

"Oh, hi, kids. I didn't hear you come in," Doc smiled to them. "Fascinating device, this video unit."

"Heh... Yeah..." Sabrina chuckled weakly because of what would happen next.

"Listen, Doc, you know there's something we haven't told you about the night we made that tape." Marty then said.

"Please, Marty, don't tell me," Doc replied. "No man should know too much about their own destiny."

"You don't understand." Cherry frowned.

"I do understand. If I know too much about my own future I could endanger my own existence, just as you endangered yours." Doc replied.

"You're right." Marty said sadly.

"Let me show you my plan for sending you home," Doc told them as he came to show them a model of the town that looked quite accurate. "Please excuse the crudity of this model, I didn't have time to build it to scale or to paint it."

"Eh, it's alright." Mo shrugged.

"Not bad, really, it's pretty cool." Cherry added.

"Oh, thank you, thank you. Okay, now we run some industrial strength electrical cable from the top of the clock tower down to suspending it over the street between two lamp posts," Doc replied before explaining everything. "Meanwhile, we outfitted the vehicle with this big pole and hook which runs directly into the flux capacitor. At the calculated moment, you start off from down the street driving toward the cable accelerating to 88 miles per hour. According to the flyer, at precisely 10:04 PM this Saturday night, lightning will strike the clock tower, electrifying the cable just as the connecting hook makes contact, thereby sending the necessary 1.21 gigawatts into the flux-capacitor, sending you back to 1985. All right now, watch this. You wind up the car and release it, I'll simulate the lightning."

Marty took the model car and began to wind it up, getting it ready.

"Ready... Set... Release!" Doc then signaled.

Marty let the car go as it drove off and Doc simulated some lightning which made the car catch on fire which horrified him a bit because that could have been the kids.

"You install me with a lot of confidence, Doc." Cherry said sarcastically.

"Don't worry, I'll take care of the lightning, you guys take care of your Marty's father," Doc replied before looking to Marty. "By the way, what happened today, did he ask her out?"

"Uh, I think so." Marty shrugged a little.

"And, if by that, you mean no!" Lionel added. "The guy's a complete jellyfish! Only a hint of a spine, but he's too meek to bring it all out for everyone to see!"

"And I thought Sabrina was a bit spineless." Drell commented.

"Hey!" Sabrina pouted.

"You could learn a little independence, but that's why I'm here..." Drell said, though not-so innocently.

"Argh..." Sabrina groaned.

There was soon a knocking and Doc went to check to see who was there.

"It's your mom, she's tracked you down!" Doc warned Marty. "Quick, let's cover the time machine!"

"And you know something?" asked Lionel. "I really thought George would have the spine to ask her out after our plan to convince him... SCARE THE SHIT OUT OF HIM!"

* * *

**Flashback Begins**

_And so George had retreated into himself again. "The hell with it," he said. "Let those who like me like me for what I am." It sounded good to say this, except that he couldn't say for sure who it was that liked him._

_George had fallen asleep around 9:00 and had more pages for his Earth invasion story along with some homework. He did not see the large figures move to the side of his bed, nor did be feel the featherweight headphones being placed on his ears by the gloved hands. The same hands inserted a cassette tape into the Walkman tape player, a cassette labeled Van Halen. The dial of the Walkman was moved to "10" and the "play" button pushed. George soon suddenly woke up as the music blared in his ears and looked all around him in horror._

_"Silence, Earthling!" A voice called as the music suddenly ended._

_There were two figures right in front of them who had to be from another planet. One was yellow, featureless, with only a square mouth through which it spoke to him in an eerie filtered voice. Next to him stood a tall, blue muscular creature with a yellow skull for a head, cloaked by a purple hood and carrying a staff with a ram skull on top._

_"Who--" George began to ask._

_"My name is Darth Vader," The figure replied. "I am an extraterrestrial from the Planet Vulcan and this is my associate: Skeletor."_

_George shook his head. "I must... Be... Dreaming..." he stammered._

_"This is no dream!" The second alien retorted. "You are having a close encounter of the third kind. You have taken one step beyond into the outer limits of The Twilight Zone."_

_"No..." George shook his head._

_"Silence!" Skeletor glowered. "We have instructions for you."_

_"I... Don't want... Instructions..." George stuttered. "Mom... Dad?!"_

_The first creature reached into his belt and withdrew something that looked extremely lethal. It was made of one solid piece of hard shiny material with a round hole, about two inches in diameter at the end. From a distance of six feet, George could plainly hear its low hum and feel heat radiating from its nozzle._

_"Don't speak or get out of bed!" The alien ordered, using what was actually a hairdryer to modern eyes. "My heat ray will vaporize you if you do not obey me!"_

_"All right," George whined as he put his hands over his head. "I surrender."_

_A strange beeping sound came from the alien. Lowering the heat ray, the creature lifted its right arm to listen to the sounds._

_"What's--" George was about to ask._

_"Silence!" Darth Vader glared. "I am receiving a transmission from the Battlestar Galactica!" After emitting several more beeps, the object on the alien's arm lapsed into silence._

_"You, George McFly, have created a rift in the space-time continuum!" Skeletor sneered._

_"I'm sorry," George whispered. "I'll repair any damage I did--"_

_"We said silence!" Skeletor continued. "The Supreme Klingon hereby commands you to take the female earth person called 'Baines, Lorraine' to the--"_

_"You mean Lorraine Baines?" George managed to ask._

_"Of course, Earthling!" Darth Vader replied. "You are hereby ordered to take this Baines female person to the location known as Hill Valley High School exactly four Earth cycles from now--"_

_"Earth cycles?" George blinked._

_"Days, stupid!" Darth Vader explained._

_"That's Saturday..." George muttered. "School's closed on Saturday."_

_"There is an event at school Saturday!" Skeletor clarified._

_"Oh, you mean the dance?" George then asked._

_"Exactly!" The two aliens exclaimed._

_"I'm ordered to take Lorraine to the dance?"_

_"Affirmative!"_

_"Does she know about this?"_

_"No. It is not necessary."_

_"But I don't know if I'll be able to--"_

_Darth Vader made a movement with his hands which made the loud sound peal through George's ears again._

_"Stop! Please stop it!" George soon screamed until the noise stopped._

_"You must not protest our decisions or you will be made to bear the brain-paralyzing sound all the time," Darth Vader threatened. "It will melt your brain."_

_"No. I'm sorry," George replied. "It's just that I don't know how to approach Lorraine."_

_"You will know at the time," Skeletor told him. "We will give you the necessary confidence."_

_"You will? You mean I'll be able to do magic?" George asked, brightening._

_"No. Our power will be behind you, to guide you," Darth Vader explained. "That is all, but it will make a difference."_

_"Thanks. I'm sure I can do it with your help." George nodded._

_"Very good, Earthling," Darth Vader approved. "You will close your eyes now and sleep. When you awaken, you will tell no one of this visit."_

_"Okay..." George murmured as he closed his eyes and lay against his pillow, going back to sleep._

_Darth Vader then moved closer to him, reached out to hold something under his nose as George was snoring like a truck driver. Gently removing the featherweight earphones from his head, the alien figures walked to the window, paused to take a long look back at the sleeping figure, then disappeared into the night._

_Lionel couldn't stop snickering on the way back. "Darth Vader, from the Planet Vulcan? Dude, that was hilarious!" he cackled._

**End of Flashback**

* * *

"It sure was something... I'm sure it was quite the inspiration." Cherry replied.

"I guess it didn't work," Mo sighed. "Bummer."

The group let out a collective sigh as they fell to the floor a bit.

"Hi, Cal--... Marty." Lorraine greeted as the door was opened for her.

"Mom... Lorraine!" Marty uttered out. "Uh, how did you know I was here?"

"I followed you." Lorraine said before curiously looking at Doc as he looked back at her.

"Oh, uh, this is my Doc--... Uncle!" Marty then replied, explaining. "Doc Brown."

"Hi." Lorraine smiled.

"Hello." Doc smiled back, though he gave an odd look between Marty and Lorraine as he went to let them talk.

"Marty, this may seem a little forward, but I was wondering if you would ask me to the Enchantment Under The Sea Dance on Saturday." Lorraine blushed hopefully.

"Uh, you mean nobody's asked you?" Marty asked.

"No, not yet." Lorraine shook her head.

"What about George?" Atticus asked.

"George McFly? Oh, he's kinda cute and all, but, well, I think a man should be strong, so he could stand up for himself, and protect the woman he loves." Lorraine replied. "Don't you?"

"Yeah, I guess..." Cherry let out a small sigh.

"The lady has a point!" Lionel nodded.

"Don't I what?" Marty asked nervously.

"...Just tell me 'yes' or 'no'," Lorraine demanded, trying to be patient. "And it better be yes, because if you don't take me to the dance, nobody will."

Marty sighed, not sure if this was serious or not before he faced Doc and the rest of his friend group, a bit miserably.

"It sounds like she really wants to go with you, boy," Doc said. "You better say yes."

"...Yes." Marty soon said. 

"Oh, thank you," Lorraine smiled, reaching out to kiss his cheek. "You won't be sorry." Then she turned and rushed out of the house, gave him a little wave at the door and was gone.

"A fine mess." Marty said. 

"It does complicate the situation, but at least if she goes to the dance with you, she'll be there," Doc sighed. "Now we gotta figure out a way to get George there so they can discover love and enchantment under the sea, whatever that means."

"Oh, God," Marty sighed. "That means I have to convince my father to go stag."

"Either that or get him another date." Doc advised.

"Doc, you may be a genius with flux capacitors and electricity and space-time continuums, but when you say I have to find another gal for that nerd at this late date, you're really asking the impossible." Marty shook his head.

"I guess we gotta deal with this now." Cherry commented.

"I guess so..." Sabrina replied. "Should we go to the dance too?"

"Yeah, that's the best thing I can think of, then we gotta make sure that George and Lorraine hook up." Atticus nodded.

"Sounds like a plan," shrugged Mo. "Time to put on your dancing shoes, let's make a connection~!"

"Dancing...?" Cherry swallowed thickly.

"Anyone can dance, Cherry," Atticus smiled. "You dance to MTV all the time."

"Yeah... Alone in my room when no one's around..." Cherry said with a slight shiver.

"Come on, we gotta do this so we can go home with Marty... It'll be okay." Atticus frowned, trying to cheer her up from her insecurities.

"Don't worry!" Lionel added. "I'll help you out with that!" he moonwalked a few times, then did a spin.

Cherry stepped back a bit.

"Go on, Cherry, it might be fun." Atticus suggested.

"Maybe for you..." Cherry frowned a little. "What if everyone laughs at me if we go to that dance and they expect me to dance like them?"

"So _what_ if they laugh?" asked Lionel. "Why should w _e_ care? What they think doesn't matter!"

"I guess so..." Cherry rubbed her arm a bit, though she seemed to go down in height by a foot.

Marty glanced over, wondering if he had seen that or not, so he rubbed his eyes.

"Cherry...?" Atticus frowned.

"I know I seem like my nerves are made of steel, but I'm a little sensitive sometimes... I'm actually a big baby inside..." Cherry said as she went down another foot, sounding like she was getting smaller.

"Your lack of self-esteem... It's causing you to shrink!" Mo exclaimed.

"Hey!" Lionel retorted. "You are _not_ a big baby! You're gutsy, and pretty, but you're not afraid. You're brave when it counts... So I need you to be brave now... Please."

Cherry looked to him.

"If you do it for any of us, do it for me... That's all I ask..." Lionel said, looking into her eyes.

Cherry seemed to blush a little from the deep eye contact before she seemed to grow slightly. "I-I guess I could give it a try..." she then uttered out, finally.

Lionel hugged her. "Thank you... Thank you so much..." he replied.

Cherry blushed a bit from the hug as she still had emotions running through her, though right now, more positive than negative.

"Hey... You grew back to normal height!" Lionel exclaimed. "Totally awesome!"

"What happened...?" Marty asked.

"Uh, don't worry about it," Atticus told him. "You just concentrate on getting your parents together."

"Yeah!" Mo agreed, nodding.

Cherry and Marty both looked that they had their hands full as they had a lot to do until Saturday.


	12. Chapter 11: Enchantment Under the Sea

Later on, after Lorraine left, the others were talking.

"I don't know how I get myself into these messes..." Drell grumbled a bit.

"I just wanna make sure this works, okay?" Sabrina replied. "Every school dance needs a chaperon."

"Oh, gee, you don't think Cranky Old Uncle Drell will cramp your style?" Drell rolled his eyes at the teenage witch. "Why do you want me to go so bad?"

"Protection," Sabrina frowned. "I really miss Harvey... He knows how to make me feel safe. Come on... Wouldn't you do the same for Aunt Hilda?"

Drell sighed. "Damn it... I hate when you use my love for Hilda against me like that." he retorted.

Sabrina grinned bashfully.

"You know how much she means to me, right?" Drell replied. "I felt nothing when I had that date with Mary Beth a week before I met you guys."

"Uh, who's Mary Beth?" Patch asked.

"She's a sorceress in the Magic Realm," Drell shrugged. "Skippy set me up for a blind date with her, and I went to go with her. Honestly, I couldn't tell you anything about her, I just kept thinking about the one who got away: Hildegard Antoinette Spellman."

Mo let out a snicker. "Hildegard. Suddenly Monique doesn't sound so bad."

Drell growled. "Watch it, kid. You're playing with fire, so quit before you get burned." he retorted.

"Heh! Sorry..." Mo smiled sheepishly. "I-It was just a joke."

Drell rolled his eyes with a low growl.

"So you'll come to the dance with us?" Sabrina asked. "I know you and I don't know each other well, but we both love Aunt Hilda, so I'm counting on you to escort us to the dance. Especially me... My dad obviously can't do it."

"Yeah, well, he married a mortal," Drell reminded. "It was the rules."

"That's not fair though!" Cherry cried out. "You're in charge! Can't you change the rules?! I feel sad for Sabrina that she can't be with her parents anymore just because one's a witch and the other one's a mortal!"

Drell just snorted. "Oh, sure, like it's that easy. There's an assload of paperwork involved, and that takes _months_! That's time I don't have, especially as a mentor!" he exclaimed.

"Oh..." Cherry's face paled a bit.

"Yeah, now you realize how demanding it is to babysit you guys and be Head of the Witch's Council all in the same budget." Drell replied.

"S-Sorry, sir, I didn't realize..." Cherry said nervously.

"No, you _didn't_ realize. You just assume it's easy for me to do it, just gotta snap my fingers and it's so!" Drell retorted. "Maybe next time, _think_ before you talk shit."

"You feeling okay?" Cherry asked nervously.

"I just wanna get out of this time period already and go back home," Drell said, sounding crankier than usual. "I never liked time traveling much like that time Sabrina let Salem eat the Time Ball and we were all in the 1960's and Zelda made me eat that wheat germ crap. I thought I was gonna die from lack of meat!"

"Well... Sorry," Lionel replied. "Here's hoping this plan works."

"It had better..." Drell growled.

"We know, we'll be stuck here forever..." Cherry said, backing a bit.

"Not only that," Drell glared, pulling her back to make their eyes meet. "You guys think I was tough on you before when Della tried to manipulate you? I'll be ten times harder! I'll make you remember this for the rest of your lives!"

"I think we already _will_ ," Lionel replied. "And lemme guess, you're gonna be so hard on us you'll make us _wish_ Della got to kill us. That's incredibly petty and childish, especially for someone of your age."

"Don't. _Fuss_. With me." Drell told them.

"Okay, we believe ya!" Cherry said, trying to make him let go. "I kinda value my life right about now! We'll do whatever you ask us to!"

"Alright, fine! You want us to go? We'll GO!" Lionel exclaimed. "We'll go to the stupid dance!"

"You know I didn't _have_ to save you!" Drell snapped. "I could've just left you to Della!"

"As if you _would!"_ Lionel replied. "Hilda and Zelda would rip you to shreds if they found out anything had happened to their niece & her friends!"

"Heheheh..." Cherry backed up bit, walking away from the dramatic scene.

"What's going on?" Atticus asked. "You also look like you saw a ghost."

"Drell and Lionel are at each other's throats." Cherry told him.

"Hoo boy," Atticus sighed.

"Not to mention, your ego is so massive, it would _never_ allow Della to outdo you!" Lionel snapped.

"Well, I--" Drell glared before pausing hopefully. "Really?"

"Oh, sure, listen to _that_ out of everything else I said." Lionel rolled his eyes.

"Hmm..." Drell paused with a smirk, putting his hand to his chin. "I am pretty amazing."

Atticus, Cherry, Mo, and Patch groaned a bit from that before smiling innocently as he looked to them.

"The point is, you only did it to prove you were better!" Lionel snapped. "Maybe if you were actually _nicer_ , you'd at least have more than one friend! But I guess you wouldn't know that, wouldja?!"

"Hm... No... I guess I wouldn't..." Drell said, softening up a bit.

"What is he doing?!" Patch panicked. "Drell's gonna destroy him!"

"...I'm sorry." Drell soon said, shutting his eyes as he bowed his head to the others.

"Really now?" asked Lionel, curiously. "W-Well... Good! You better be!"

"I've done a _lot_ of bad things in my life..." Drell said. "Cancelled dates... Forgot my social appointments... Competed against Della... I guess I just have a lot on my mind right now. I'll take you guys to the dance... But I'm NOT dancing with you!"

"We just ask that you come with us." Sabrina replied.

"I'll come..." Drell replied. "I guess it couldn't kill me."

"Great," Atticus replied. "That went better than I thought it would... Figured Lionel would end up dead or vaporized."

"There's an idea." Drell smirked.

"NO!" The others cried out.

"Ah! I'm just kidding!" Drell laughed to them, slapping Atticus on the back. "Learn how to take a joke, guys!"

The group then laughed with him, a bit weakly and nervously, though Atticus's laugh was a little choppy.

"Mm... I need to get you in the gym." Drell said, lifting up Atticus's arm a bit.

"Huh... Sure," Atticus replied. "One problem at a time, sir."

* * *

And so, the rest of the time was spent trying to focus on the school dance. Marty did what he could to get George to go with Lorraine while Lionel taught Cherry how to dance as Sabrina sighed as she missed Harvey a whole lot right now even though the others assured her that when they got back home, it would be as though they never left. It was a bit difficult, but they managed to hit their stride soon enough.

"Are we set then?" Cherry asked. "Is the dance on?"

"I think so, yeah," Patch said, scratching behind his ear a bit. "I'll be so glad to get back home."

"I think the first thing on the agenda would be to give you a bath." Atticus said since he saw Patch scratching himself.

"Well, we can handle that," Lionel replied. "All I need is a hose, some bubble soap, and a washtub."

"Whoa! Uh, that's okay, I can wait to get back home for a bath." Patch grinned nervously.

The group soon surrounded him.

"Get him." Cherry said.

Patch soon tried to get away as the group soon chased after him.

"Come on, Patch, it's just a little bath!" Atticus called out.

"And besides, better to get it done now than procrastinate!" Lionel replied, trapping Patch inside an energy bubble.

"Noooo!" Patch cried out.

"Let's go." Cherry smirked, bouncing the bubble like a basketball.

"Cherrryyyy! That's making me sssiiiick!" Patch cried out.

"Well, it would serve you right," Mo replied. "You might not like baths, but they're necessary. You might not care about how you smell, but we do!"

"Noooo!" Patch cried out as they took him back.

* * *

Soon, Patch was forced into a tub and the others did their part to clean him up as he looked very aggravated with all of them.

"Don't look at me like that," Atticus retorted. "You knew this was coming. As if we were going to let you start to reek!"

"You can glare all you want, 'til your face cramps up," Lionel added. "Won't do you any good, so just suck it up and bear it!"

"Fine..." Patch grumbled a bit before shaking himself a bit.

"Gah! Cut that out!" Cherry groaned, getting soaked from soap and water.

"Whoops." Patch smirked.

Lionel snorted. "Just for that, I'm drying you off by hand!" he remarked, taking him with the left hand, and turning his right hand into a blow-dryer, and blasting him with it.

"I said sorry!" Patch cried out through clenched teeth as his fur stood out on end.

Atticus soon took out a towel for himself and the others, holding onto Lionel's until he would be ready for it while Patch finished up his bath.

"Annnnnd... Done!" Lionel replied, as Patch's fur puffed up. "Now that we have that handled, we can focus on other things."

"I feel like a marshmallow!" Patch muffled.

"It's done and over with, let's worry about the dance," Atticus said. "Saturday will be here before we know it. We gotta trust Marty to get George to the dance and Lorraine to come and fall in love with George, otherwise, we'll be short an adventure ally, and we just met the dude!"

"Yeah!" The kids nodded.

* * *

Eventually, Marty came to tell them the progress of what they had missed.

"'I am your density'?" Cherry asked before laughing.

The others looked to her.

"I'm sorry!" Cherry said while laughing. "That's funny, right?"

Lionel snickered. "It _is_ a pretty corny line..." he replied.

"Well, it couldn't have been _all_ bad, right?" Cherry asked Marty.

"Ugh... I'm not sure about that..." Marty groaned a bit.

"Ah, right... Dancing with your mom," Lionel replied. "That'll scar ya for life."

"It looks as though I have no other choice." Marty replied.

"Bogus..." Atticus shook his head. "There has to be another way."

"Oh, sure, easy for _us_ to say," Cherry replied. "We're not the ones being forced into an Oedipal complex."

Marty looked confused at her.

"Someone fell asleep during English class..." Cherry remarked from Marty's blank reaction.

"Oedipus was this dude who killed his dad and married his mom." said Lionel.

"That's where the term comes from." Cherry smirked.

"Augh! I worry about you guys sometimes!" Marty groaned.

"Heh, guess the feeling is mutual!" Lionel grinned.

"Now we wait..." Cherry said. "Too bad Doc doesn't have a computer I can hack."

"At least not for a decade or two, give or take," replied Lionel, playing with some of his action figures.

"Argh..." Cherry grumbled.

"Maybe now would be a good time for you guys to keep up with some training." Drell suggested as he caught them.

"Aw, man..." Sabrina groaned.

"Let's go!" Drell said, clapping his hands sharply. "Work-outs and magic spells, let's go, people!"

* * *

The group groaned and began to do what he asked of them.

"I need a vacation..." Cherry begged. "Or at least a personal trainer..."

"Maybe we'll get one soon." said Lionel hopefully, putting his Transformers toys in his bag.

"Less talk! More working!" Drell replied.

"Augh..." The others groaned from that.

"Come on, Atticus, you can do it," Atticus told himself with high confidence and motivation. "This must be what He-Man does all the time."

"Mostly when he fights Skeletor," replied Lionel. "I guess even the Autobots have to keep in top physical condition to fight Megatron and the Decepticons."

"Heh, that's a good point," Atticus replied. "I guess at least we'll be in good shape for the dance."

"Can't... Go... Much... Longer..." Cherry groaned, beginning to look tired already.

"Oh, come on!" said Sabrina. "We just started!"

"I can't go anymore!" Cherry cried out.

"No pain, no gain," Drell replied. "You're all just lucky that I'm not General Cheesehead."

"What in the name of abominations is a General Cheesehead?" Cherry groaned.

"Oh, Zelda could tell you some stories." Drell smirked from that.

"I remember," said Lionel. "It was during that incident where Sabrina thought she was too fat cuz Salem accidentally shrunk her jeans in the wash."

Sabrina looked bashful from that.

"Oh, yeah..." Drell replied. " _Someone_ said if _she_ was fat, then _I_ was skinny."

"I meant that in confidence." Cherry defended as she had said that.

"Then Hilda, Drell, and Zelda had to call in General Cheesehead," explained Lionel. "And it resulted in a class-5 food fight... With the food doing the fighting! Eventually, Sabrina learned that eating no food is as bad as overeating, and everyone else got their memory erased afterwards."

"As usual..." Cherry replied. "'Cuz mortals freak out over magic."

"Hey, it's in the rules," Drell said. "I just follow them. I'm in charge of the Council for a reason."

"He's right," said Lionel. "Now get your servos in gear, we got a dance to prep for!"

"I wonder if I could magic us up some outfits..." Sabrina suggested before coming up to a mirror.

* * *

Some random guitar music seemed to play as she used her magic to try out different outfits until the last one seemed to look like a lobster. Cherry snorted from that a bit.

"Oh, you do _not_ want to make me crabby." Sabrina warned before pinching Cherry's nose.

"Augh!" Cherry cried out from the claw pinch.

The group got a little chuckle out of that before going back to practice.

* * *

Eventually, they were finally free to take a break.

"Good hustle, kids," Drell said. "I'm impressed."

"Thank goodness..." Cherry sighed in relief.

"We won't be much help to Marty if we pass out during the dance." said Atticus.

"After all, a great man once said that freedom is the right of all sentient beings." Lionel stated.

"Yes, but since I'm here, you should keep up your strength." Drell replied.

The others groaned a bit from that. They soon got back up after a while to get ready for the dance. Lionel snapped his fingers and dressed the group:

-Lionel was clad in a blue tuxedo and red bow tie

-Cherry had a black dress with purple accents

-Atticus had a green tux

-Mo had a sky-blue dress

-and Sabrina had a bright-red dress on.

"Mm... I like this shade of blue." Mo smiled.

"It suits you." Atticus smiled back.

Cherry smirked as she really loved her dress as the colors really popped out for her before twirling around a bit.

Lionel took a bow. "You're welcome." he grinned.

"I guess the downside is that I can't take Harvey to this dance." Sabrina pouted.

"Sorry about that, Sabrina." Patch pouted in sympathy.

"Maybe next time," replied Lionel. "Perhaps you'll be able to tell him one day."

"Yeah, I guess..." Sabrina blushed a bit. "Uncle, what're you gonna do while we're gone?"

"Meh," Drell shrugged. "Guess I'll help Doc out to help get us back to the future."

"Good on ya," said Lionel. "Everyone else, let's get Marty and head on ovah to the school. We got a dance to get to!"

"Right!" The others replied as they soon went to get going.

* * *

"Enchantment Under the Sea" was well underway. The Hill Valley High School gymnasium still looked basically like a gymnasium, but there were enough displays and artifacts to create a pleasant illusion. The lighting was blue with silver sparkles created by glass mobiles cut in the shape of fish. Against the walls were various Papier-mâché attractions: a sunken ship, undersea caverns, a treasure chest, masses of seaweed, and a diver suspended by a long cable stretching to the ceiling. 

As an example of contemporary humor, a single school locker labeled "Davey Jones" occupied one comer of the huge room. Onstage was the band, Marvin Berry and the Starlighters. All five men were black, consisting of a drummer, piano player, sax, and bass, with Marvin himself playing guitar and singing. Now he was rendering the popular melody from the motion picture Three Coins in the Fountain. Chi the dance floor, several hundred young men and women, elegantly dressed, leaned against one another and moved in torpid time to the music. 

Watching them, wearing artificial smiles of enjoyment, were three chaperones appointed by the school: the inevitable Principal Strickland, standing stiff as a ramrod with his eyes darting quickly back and forth, a chubby algebra/geometry teacher, and the school librarian. Strickland did his usual job of looking out for trouble among the students while the algebra/geometry teacher was more interested in the refreshments while the librarian wandered around to herself and tried to make some wallflowers join in on the dance.

"Walk around and at least talk, ladies," The librarian said at frequent intervals. "Remember, a body in motion is more exciting and enticing than a body just sitting there."

One of the male wallflowers was the future Mr. George McFly, looking distinctly uncomfortable in his tight collar, white tux, and bow-tie. Most of the time, George just stood and watched the other dancers, but every once in a while he bopped out of time to the music. He tried not to think too much about Lorraine, who looked more beautiful than he had ever seen her. He also tried not to think too much about the scenario that was supposed to take place at 9:00, part of him wishing he had stayed home that night. Of course, he could have left, but Marty had already seen him and winked knowingly. 

To have walked out after that actually required more courage than staying, so George hung around. Over and over he thought: it'll be done with soon. Maybe it'll work and maybe it won't but it won't be any more embarrassing than some of the problems you've had with Biff. The selection ended and was immediately followed by a faster number.

* * *

On the dance floor, Marty looked at his watch. It was 8:45, time to start the ball rolling.

"Yo, Marty," Lionel waved as he came with Cherry. "Did we miss the fun?"

"Nah, I think you guys are just in time actually." Marty replied.

"Well, that's good." Cherry said.

"Let's sit this one out, okay?" Marty said to Lorraine.

Lorraine nodded with a seductive smile as she headed off to the row of chairs along the side of the floor.

"Outside is better." Marty then suggested as he took her to try to steer her towards the door.

"I'm with you." Lorraine suddenly agreed.

* * *

Going out to the parking lot was not as easy as it sounded. Mr. Strickland kept a sharp watch for who left the dance area and how long they stayed away. He seemed to have a computer in his head which told him exactly who was missing and how long they'd been gone. As a result, Marty and Lorraine had to hang around the entrance, waiting for Strickland to look away before they were able to leave. It was ten of nine when they slipped into Doc Brown's Packard which Marty had borrowed to take Lorraine to the dance with.

"Uh, you don't mind if we... Uh... sit here a few minutes, do you?" Marty asked.

"Why do you think I'd mind?" Lorraine replied.

"Well, I don't know. Some girls just... Don't like... You know..." Marty shrugged. 

"Marty, I'm almost 18-years-old," The future mother insisted. "It's not like I've never parked before," she then added before she moved her hand on his leg which made him blush and feel even more uncomfortable. "You seem nervous, Marty," she then said. "Is anything wrong?"

"Uh, no..." Marty gulped.

"Usually you're so cool, like when you took care of Biff and his friends, but I hear that's the way it is with a lot of strong, silent men," Lorraine said. "They get a little nervous with women."

"No. It's all right." Marty reassured. 

"Well, just in case, why don't you have some of this?" Lorraine smiled as she opened her purse and took out a pint bottle of gin. "It'll help you relax."

Cherry did a bit of a double-take.

Marty even gasped, finding it appalling that his own mother, not even a grown woman, but a teenager, would have such a thing. "What are you doing with that?!" he then whispered in horror.

"I'm opening it." Lorraine said like it was obvious.

"But... Where did you get it?" Marty continued.

"Oh, I swiped it from the old lady's liquor cabinet." Lorraine giggled as she put the top on the dashboard, tossed her head back, and took a nip.

"Lorraine..." Marty muttered. "Is this the first time you've done this?"

"Done what?" Lorraine asked. "Sat in a car with a boy with some new friends, had a slug of gin, or sat in a car with a boy and drank?"

"Drink," Marty replied. "Are you doing this just... To show-off or something?"

"No. Certainly not," Lorraine shook her head, feeling slightly offended. "I do it because I like it."

"But you shouldn't drink." Marty scolded, realizing even as he said the words how much he sounded like an old- fashioned parent.

"Why not?" Lorraine pouted.

"It's not healthy!" Cherry cried out then, unable to hold it in.

"Don't be such squares, guys," Lorraine laughed. "Everybody who's anybody is doing it." 

"Yeah, that's what they say about smoking." replied Lionel, annoyed.

Marty soon sighed before he kept an eye on his watch and it was almost time for him to make his move. Lorraine soon passed the bottle to Marty, allowing him to have some and to hold it for her for the time being.

Marty soon decided to take a sip before he suddenly did a spit-take to see his future mother taking out a pack of cigarettes to have a smoke. "Jesus! You smoke too?!" he then yelped.

Lionel and the others looked as if something had crawled into their tents and died. Lorraine rolled her eyes at Marty's behavior. How the tables had turned indeed.

"I'm serious, you shouldn't do it," Marty scolded Lorraine. "Cigarette smoking is danger--"

"Come on. I sort of understand that it's not exactly lady-like to drink, but smoking is nice," Lorraine reassured. "There's nothing wrong with it."

"Are you kidding?" Marty replied, wide-eyed. "Everything's wrong with it."

"Like what?" Lorraine countered.

"It's unhealthy." Marty explained.

"Then why do doctors advertise it on TV?" Lorraine shrugged.

"Because the cigarette lobby's too powerful--" Marty tried to explain. 

"Oh, bull. Everybody knows smoking's good for your circulation," Lorraine explained as she really believed in what she was saying. "It also calms your nerves and soothes the heart."

The group looked mortified.

"Soothes the heart! My God, it'll give you all sorts of heart problems," Marty listed. "And lung cancer. Look! It says right here on the pack--" He took the cigarette pack from her and looked for the Surgeon General's wanting, but was not there. Instead, there was a line, obviously written by the cigarette manufacturer, which read: _"This fine blend of Turkish and domestic tobaccos calms the nerves, improves the circulation, gives you a sense of well-being."_ He then let out a whistle and shook his head as he couldn't believe this. "Good God!" 

"They'll say anything to make a quick buck..." glared Cherry.

Marty handed the pack back. Somehow he'd avoided smoking all his life and he wasn't about to start now.

"It's just... Just..." Cherry stammered, unable to convince Lorraine otherwise, but soon, the other girl looked annoyed.

"You know, you sound just like my mother," Lorraine said with a glare at the group who were really ruining her fun. "It's really stupid the way parents don't understand their kids and try to run their lives for them," she then said. "When I have kids. I'm gonna let them do anything they want. Anything. And I'm not gonna lecture them or say how it was different back in the good old days when I was young. No, sir, they're not gonna get any of that crap from me."

"I'd sure like to have that promise in writing." Marty smirked.

Cherry snorted from that remark, but it went over Lorraine's head. They sat silently for a few moments as Lionel attempted to yawn and stretch his arms out, putting one arm around Cherry who didn't seem to mind it, Lorraine occasionally sucking on the gin bottle while Marty continued to look at his watch or out die rearview mirror. It was already past the appointed time. Where the hell was George?

"Are you looking for somebody?" Lorraine asked.

"Uh... Yeah. Strickland," Marty nodded. "Just wanted to make sure he's not out on patrol."

"He's got enough to worry about inside," Lorraine smiled as she put the bottle back in her purse, sliding closer to him. "So tell me what your parents are like? Are they as square as mine?" she then asked curiously. 

"Lately," Marty said softly. "I've come to the conclusion that I don't know anything about them."

"That's a shame." Lorraine pouted.

* * *

George felt weak and cold and on the verge of fainting, like the time he'd stuck his finger in the gears of a portable cement mixer his father had rented and nearly severed the end of it. 15 minutes before the time he was due outside, and he felt so sick and overwhelmed with worry, he caused himself a great deal of pain to run into the men's room a couple of times. It was very close to 9:00 as he suffered from a bad case of nerves which would probably be met with pain and embarrassment if he failed himself and Marty about winning over Lorraine. He tried to calm himself, but nothing seemed to do the trick before he soon went to the men's room for yet another time.

Inside, class prankster Mark Dixon and several other boys were sneaking a smoke and talking. Suddenly, the bathroom door slammed open so hard it seemed as if a raid were in progress. "Jesus!" he then shouted, dropping his cigarette into the urinal, expecting to see Mr. Strickland, but it was actually someone else.

George soon rushed into the bathroom yet again and rushed quickly to a stall.

The terror in Dixon's eyes changed to annoyance and then amusement. "That son of a bitch made me lose my last weed," he said. "Look at that," He pointed to the cigarette floating and slowly disintegrating in the urinal. "He's gonna have to pay for that," the cruel prankster bully said. "Cornin' in here like the riot squad."

Dixon and his crew soon went into the stall that George was in to teach him a lesson for the incident that just happened.

* * *

Meanwhile, Marty sat nervously in Doc's Packard, Lorraine's hip firmly pressed against his. She was ready to be kissed and he then touched, hopefully just enough to insult her, create fear and anger, and the need for a new champion to rescue her. Marty's dilemma was one of timing. If he went after her too soon, he would be forced to continue the assault until George came, and perhaps it would be over too soon. If, on the other hand, he continued sitting here like a genial lump, Lorraine might conclude that he was either retarded or that she had no appeal. In either case, her next logical move would be out of the car, back to the dance and out of his life, probably forever.

"Come on, George..." Cherry whispered to herself, absentmindedly clutching Lionel's hand.

Lionel's face turned bright red at that as Marty got more and more nervous and impatient, wondering where his father could possibly be.

"Marty, why are you so nervous?" Lorraine soon asked as she could read the psychical and mental signs that the boy was going through.

Marty took a deep breath. "Well, have you ever been in a situation," he soon began, "Where... Well, you know you have to act a certain way, but when you get there, you don't know if you can go through with it?" he then finally asked.

"You mean like how you're supposed to act with someone on the first date?" Lorraine guessed.

"Uh... Yeah." Marty replied.

"Very polite and sweet and like that?" Lorraine continued.

Marty nodded.

"I don't worry about that!" Lorraine gushed as she then suddenly threw her arms around his neck and began to kiss him passionately with no more hesitance. 

Lionel's face turned green at that, and he decided to change the subject. "...So, Atticus... I hear your parents are adopting a little girl?" he asked. "Looks like you get to be a middle brother, since you got an older sister already!"

"Huh? Oh, yeah," Atticus smiled. "I'm pretty excited to become a big brother. I'd rather have a little brother, but still, I'm excited about being a big brother."

"Heh... I'm sure you can do that job." Cherry replied, trying not to throw up from Lorraine and Marty's kiss.

"We're all rooting for ya, buddy." added Sabrina, trying to suppress the feelings of nausea in her throat.

"Heh... Thanks..." Atticus replied bashfully.

Lorraine soon got out of the kiss.

"Uh, everything okay over there?" Cherry asked.

"Oh, I'm sorry, guys, but kissing Marty feels like... Feels like..." Lorraine stammered a bit. "...I'm kissing my brother."

"Uh... I feel the same way about Atticus." Cherry said sheepishly then.

"Glad to know you're feeling as awkward as we are." Lionel replied.

"I guess that doesn't make much sense, does it?" Lorraine said.

"Believe me. It makes perfect sense," Marty told his future mother. "Maybe you got it reversed, but the picture is right."

"What do you think it is?" Lorraine frowned.

"Uh... I don't know." Marty shrugged. 

"Damn! It seemed too good to be true." Lorraine pouted.

"Yeah..." Marty said softly. 

"There's other fish in the sea," Cherry urged. "Maybe you'll find the right guy when you least expect it? Uh... Please?!"

"Exactly! All the more reason to go inside!" Lionel added. _'Wherever you are, George... You better be here...'_ he thought.

The sound of footsteps alarmed all of them, each for a different reason. Lorraine was afraid some faculty member had spotted the gin bottle and would tell her parents. Marty was really hoping that this was George coming to rescue Lorraine, so he then decided to lunge out at the girl to make himself look sleazy and irresponsible. However, the door was suddenly opened and Marty was grabbed before he looked surprised and scared of who had grabbed him. 

"Nooo..." Atticus, Cherry, Mo, Lionel, and Sabrina gasped themselves.

The face looking into his was not that of George, but Biff Tannen. Behind him stood his cronies: 3-D, Skinhead, and Match, their faces wreathed in menacing smiles.

"You caused $300 damage to my car, you son of a bitch," Biff rasped. "And I'm gonna take it outta your ass... Hold him, guys..."

Lifting Marty bodily out of the car. Biff spun him roughly into the arms of Skinhead, who grabbed one of Marty's arms just as 3-D grabbed the other.

"Good work, guys," Biff said as he drew back his fist. "Skinhead thought that was you, sneaking out to the parking lot. We might never have got you alone otherwise."

"Let go of him!" Lorraine yelled from inside the car, sliding over to the driver's side. "Leave him alone, Biff! You're drunk!"

Biff regarded her with a smile that was very close to a leer. "Well, lookee what we have here," he said. "Maybe I'll take part of it outta YOUR ass."

Marty slammed his foot down on Skinhead's toe, causing him to shout with pain. Then, jack-knifing forward, he threw his elbow up and back, striking 3-D's jaw solidly. Both boys released their holds but only briefly. Although struggling mightily, Marty was soon helpless in their grasp.

Biff, meanwhile, had leaped into the Packard and grabbed Lorraine.

"Guys... We _have_ to do something!" Lionel exclaimed. "Because this is totally bogus!"

"That's it..." Atticus said, rolling up his sleeves. "Biff Tannen is going down."

"Oh, yeah!" Lionel agreed.

"Let go of me!" Lorraine screamed, struggling as hard as she could.

"Oh, no, baby, you're staying right here with me." Biff laughed.

Marty pulled his tormentors nearly a foot forward as he tried to get at Biff. "Take your filthy hands off her, you bastard!" he ordered.

Biff smiled coolly at Marty, confident that he could make no trouble. "I'll take care of you all after I take care of her," he said.

"You want us to start?" Skinhead asked.

"No, not yet," Biff shook his head. "That's one party I don't want to start without me. Take him around back. I'll be there in a minute."

* * *

"Hold it right there!" Atticus glared. "You mugs are gonna have to listen to me first!"

"Pfft! What can you do?" Skinhead scoffed.

Atticus soon went to grab a hold of the bullies with his strength. Skinhead just rolled his eyes until Atticus tossed him effortlessly into a nearby wall.

"What is that kid?" asked 3-D.

"Some kinda freak..." replied Match, before he got out a switchblade. "But even freaks bleed!"

"Sure, we bleed..." remarked Lionel. "And so can you!"

"Yah!" Cherry called out, giving the goons a roundhouse kick, making them fall. "Nobody hurts my brother!... Friend! My best friend."

"Ooh, touchy." 3-D scoffed a bit.

Lionel turned his hand into a spring-loaded glove and used it to punch out 3-D and Match. "You're about to see just HOW touchy!"

"Bring it!" 3-D glared before getting struck.

"You've been hit by, You've been struck by, A smooth criminal~" Cherry mocked the bullies.

Biff whirled around and shouted at them. "This ain't no peepshow! Get the hell outta sight while I... Romance this lady."

"Fat chance, fathead!" Mo retorted as she used her vines to bash the goons in the heads.

Sabrina watched the others, not sure what to do here, seeming a bit envious of her friends. Biff slammed the door and reached forward to kiss Lorraine.


	13. Chapter 12: Earth Angel

A moment later, all Marty could see and hear through the rear window was the struggling form of his mother accompanied by her muffled screams. Inwardly, he cursed himself nearly as much as he cursed Biff and his friends. If it hadn't been for Marty, Lorraine would be enjoying the dance instead of having to fight to avoid being raped.

"Back off!" Cherry glared at the bullies.

There was also enough anger left over to direct at George. Dragging Marty bodily, 3-D and Skinhead noticed a Cadillac parked with its trunk open near the side of the school.

"Hey! This guy's more trouble than he's worth. Let's lock him in that trunk." Skinhead suggested.

"Good idea!" 3-D replied as he reached down to grab Marty's legs.

The two of them soon wrestled Marty to the side of the car before they managed to push him into the trunk. Before Marty could have a chance to get out, Skinhead slammed the trunk shut to lock him inside. However, a certain band heard and noticed the struggle from Marty and decided to go and inspect it during their smoke break. 

"Say, what you messin' with my car for?" Bob Jordan demanded.

"Beat it, spook," 3-D shot back. "This don't concern you."

"It sure does if you're screwin' around with my car trunk," Bob said in a firm, slightly raised voice. "And who you callin' spook, peckerwood?"

"Peckerwood..." Cherry repeated in deadpan.

Despite being outnumbered, Marty advanced toward 3-D and Skinhead, who took a step backwards. A moment later, Marvin Barry and the other three band members appeared from the back entrance of the gymnasium.

"Marvin Barry..." Cherry gasped to herself.

"What's goin' on?" Berry asked.

Skinhead and 3-D looked fearfully at the five black men.

"They called me spook," Jordan said. "And I was about to ask them if they wanted a couple of new breathin' holes in their faces."

"Hey, I don't want to mess with no reefer addicts." Skinhead muttered.

"Reefer addicts, huh?" Marvin repeated, taking a step toward them.

By that time. Skinhead and 3-D were ten feet away and running as fast as they could and then...

"Lemme out!" Marty suddenly cried out. 

The musicians exchanged glances. The muffled voice and beating sounds were definitely coming from inside the Cadillac's trunk.

"They musta dumped somebody in there." Jordan said.

"Hey, Reginald, where's your keys?" Marvin asked, looking at one of the others.

The one named Reginald checked his pockets, frowned, and shook his head. "Can't find 'em." he said.

"They're in here!" Marty's voice cried out. "The keys are in here."

"Say that again?" Marvin demanded. 

"I said the keys are in here!" Marty repeated.

"Dammit, boy, you did it again!" Marvin glared at Reginald. "That's the third time you left them suckers in the trunk!"

Lionel sighed. "I got you guys covered..." he replied.

The bandmates looked over and stepped aside.

"By the way, my dad? Huge fan... Good to meet you guys." Cherry bowed to Marvin Barry and his bandmates.

"Uh, thank you." Marvin replied.

"Also, he sends his regards to your cousin, Chuck." Cherry then said.

Finally, Lionel managed to get the car door open and helped Marty out.

* * *

**_MEANWHILE..._ **

"All right! What's going on here?" A welcoming and frustrated voice demanded which belonged to none other than Mr. Strickland.

"Nothing, sir!" One of George's captors replied fearfully.

"1 smell cigarette smoke," Strickland narrowed his eyes. "Does anybody here have cigarettes?"

"No... Sir." The boy replied.

"ZIP IT! I'll give you one chance to hand over the packs now," Strickland glared. "If I search you and find cigarettes, it'll be a lot harder on you."

In his cubicle, George heard the sound of material being tom and thrown in the trash can.

"That's better," Strickland said. "Now clear out of here."

George gently pushed open the door of the stall and stepped out. 

"What's been going on here, McFly?" Strickland asked, eyeing him coldly.

"Nothing, sir." George replied obediently.

"Bull droppings. I saw you go in here 20 minutes ago," Strickland shook his head. "Why were you here that long?"

"Nothing important, sir," George pouted. "We were just fooling around. You know--"

"Well, never mind. The dance is just about over," Strickland scolded as he motioned toward the door. "You'd better get back to your—never mind, I don't suppose you have a date."

George took the cue and darted out of the men's room. As he moved through the hallway outside of the gymnasium, he saw that the dance floor was almost completely crowded, and the lights very low, indicating that the final number was about to begin. Although he doubted that Marty was still manhandling Lorraine in the parking lot, George decided to make a dutiful appearance and explain the reason for his delay.

* * *

Walking briskly onto the parking lot, George headed for the spot where Marty had parked the Packard. At first, his eyes caught no sign of a struggle but just as he sighed with relief he realized he was in the wrong lane. Doubling back, he walked toward the correct area, approaching the Packard from the rear. "Damn!" he whispered.

The scenario was still in progress, just as if time had stopped for more than 20 minutes so that he could accomplish his mission. Taking a deep breath, the spineless coward began to run toward the car. Through the windows, he could see arms and even what he judged to be legs flailing. Lorraine was screaming as the male figure pressed his body against hers and groped wildly with his hands.

"Holy cow," George muttered as he mistook the figure harassing Lorraine for someone else. "It looks like Marty is going all out," Arriving at the car, he adjusted his pants and took a couple of steps, John Wayne-style as he reached out to grab the door handle and jerked it around as roughly as possible and began to sound loud and forceful for once in his life. "Hey, you! Get your damn hands off--"

The face of the attacker twisted in his direction and George immediately recognized it. "I think you got the wrong car, McFly." Biff said.

"George! Help me!" Lorraine cried.

George began to loook horrified once he saw that Biff was the one with Lorraine instead of Marty. He had to wonder if this was a plan made by Marty and the others or if he just had rotten luck. 

"Just close the door and walk away, McFly." Biff said evenly.

George didn't move. A part of him had already reached the verge of panic, but another part of him simply would not allow his feet to move. He saw a quick flash of that scene in grade school five years ago when he had been unable to come to the aid of his Mend Billy Stockhausen. Since that moment, he had feared physical combat, had learned to anticipate it, and avoid it, but there was no avoiding this crisis unless he just turned and ran. The look of utter fear on Lorraine's face prevented that.

"Ugh...." Cherry shuddered as she suddenly shook a chill around her body.

"Are you deaf, McFly?" Biff demanded, his voice losing all restraint. "I told you to close the door and beat it! Now do it!"

George took a deep breath. "No! You let her alone." he finally said with as much bravery as he could muster. 

Lorraine sighed in relief that she was finally being saved, even if that someone wasn't Marty and she looked thankful and pleased with George's bravery. 

"All right, McFly, you had your chance," Biff glared once he got off of Lorraine and moved his focus onto George. "Now I'm gonna teach you a lesson." he then moved towards his victim to grab onto him and suddenly grabbed his arm and began to twist it behind his back.

George let out a fearful and pained groan as Biff grinned at the sound of it and decided to abuse him more. 

"Help!" Lorraine shouted.

George found himself feeling Lorraine's pain and fear, though he suddenly began to feel a deep sensation inside of him. Biff continued to grab George in a painful and dark way as if to try to snap George's bone. 

"Stop it, Biff!" Lorraine shouted. "You'll break his arm!"

"That's right, baby!" Biff shot back as he applied more pressure. "That's just what I'm going for."

Desperate with pain, George reacted to the split-second respite with blind instinct. Pulling himself from Biff's grasp, he turned and, with both eyes firmly closed, threw the hardest punch of his life. To both of their surprise, Biff was suddenly struck by the punch and he suddenly fell right to the ground and was off of George, allowing him to go free as he finally stood up for himself and Lorraine. The group was dumbstruck.

"Way to go, George..." sighed Lionel. "Ya did it."

"Well, I'll be..." Cherry said with light applause.

"Super!" Atticus beamed. "That was... Wow... I'm proud of ya, George."

Luckily, they weren't the only witnesses.

"Oh, George! You were wonderful!" Another voice added which made the others turn to see who it was.

Lorraine's sparkling eyes stared at George's, projecting a message of total adoration. George shook his head, looked down at his fist and then at the crumpled form of Biff Tannen near his feet. He couldn't believe it and no one else could once they came to see what had happened as Lorraine and George came together. 

"Who is that kid?" One male voice asked. "Does he go to our school?"

"It's George McFiy," Another answered. "He's been in our homeroom for two years."

"Never noticed him before..." 

"Look at that guy out cold, will you? What a punch that little guy must have!"

"Way to go, Georgie!"

"Great work, Dad," Marty said as he shook hands with his future father. "I mean, George."

It seemed that his work here was done, but there was still more. George and Lorraine now had to share a dance and a kiss with each other which would lead to them falling in love and well, you know the rest. Was there enough time though? 

"It's not too late," Marty breathed. Then, in a louder voice, he said: "Hey, everybody! I think we should have one more dance just so this nice couple can celebrate!"

A shout of approbation mingled with the sound of distant thunder.

Marty looked at the sky, grabbed Lorraine with one hand and George with the other. "Come on, gang!" he shouted. "We're going back in for one more number."

The group rushed back to the gymnasium, passing the Stariighters on the way.

* * *

"Hey, you guys!" Marty said. "How about giving us one more number?"

"Dance is over." Marvin replied.

"Forget it." mumbled another. 

Marty reached into his pocket, and pulled out his wallet. "Here," he said, taking out all his money. "It's yours for just one dance."

The musicians looked at each other indecisively.

"Is something wrong?" Sabrina asked the musicians.

"Well, it's okay with me," said Reginald, "Except that Marvin cut his hand opening the car trunk until that friend of yours came to our rescue."

"Yeah," Jordan added. "He can't play with it like that. And we can't play without Marvin. He plays lead guitar, man. You can't do anything without that."

"But you've gotta play!" Marty urged. "That's where they kiss for the first time; on the dance floor! If there's no music, they won't kiss and fall in love! And if they don't fall in love. I'm a goner!"

The black men looked at each other.

"What the hell's this guy talking about?" One of them asked.

"Hey, man," said Reginald, handing the money back. "The dance is over... Unless you know somebody who can play guitar."

The group looked over to Marty with a knowing smirk.

"Time to rock, dude." Lionel said with a wink.

"Of course!" Marty said. "I can do it."

"Come on..." Atticus said to the band.

"Trust us." Marty added.

"Why not?" Reginald shrugged with a smile. "It might be worth it just for the laughs."

Grabbing their equipment, the musicians followed Marty and his friends back into the gymnasium. The surge created a ripple of interest among the other students which soon became a tidal wave. Within two minutes, the entire gymnasium was again filled with bodies.

"What's going on here?" Strickland shouted over and over. Grabbing arms, be tried to force the students out of the hall but his efforts were ineffectual.

* * *

Meanwhile, Marty had set himself up with the band in the far comer, plugged in the equipment, and shouted into the microphone. "One more dance," he said. "A special number for my parents." He and the Starlighters launched into "Earth Angel" and the students paired off to dance. 

Lorraine slipped into George's arms, put her cheek against his.

"This is for all you lovers out there." Marvin said into the microphone as the song started and he sang the song while Marty would play the guitar for them.

Marty looked around as he played the song, though eventually, his guitar playing became less than stellar. This concerned and confused the musicians, especially since he wasn't living up to his expectations for some reason. On the McFly sibling photograph, Linda was just about all gone and soon Marty's image was being erased next and Marty's hand began to fade back and forth which was the reason of his currently poor guitar playing.

"Hey, man," Bob Jordan whispered. "What's wrong?"

"I can't play," Marty murmured. "I don't know how to play the guitar!" He lifted the offending right hand and gasped with horror. He could see through it!

Bob Jordan, losing the beat himself, stared at Marty's wide eyes and open-mouthed expression. "What kinda drugs is that cat on?" he whispered.

Marty closed his eyes, struggled to his feet. "I... Don't feel so good..." he mumbled.

On the dance floor, many of the young people were so wrapped up in the magical moment they failed to notice the band's disintegrating sound. George in particular was totally oblivious to mere music as he had a great time with Lorraine so far, until someone just had to come in and ruin it.

"George?" Lorraine frowned. "Aren't you going to kiss me?"

"I-I... Don't know." George replied nervously.

"Scram, McFly!" An obnoxious kid glared as he stepped in and took Lorraine away from George.

George found himself unable to fight the kid like he did with Biff and he soon just decided to get back home. 

"George!" Lorraine cried out helplessly.

Marty began to look like he was close to dying. No one else seemed to notice this except for the group as Marty's image in the sibling photo was close to being gone. 

"Come on, George, prove to Lorraine you love her," Cherry panicked for her new friend's sake. "It's your last chance!"

"Excuse me?" George soon called to the obnoxious kid who turned to him and he was suddenly shoved 10 feet away and Lorraine was brought back to George as they shared true love's kiss. 

Marty felt a surge of new energy race through his entire body. Jolted upright as if struck by an electrical shock, he looked at his right hand and arm again. No longer were they transparent! "Thank God!" he smiled.

The group and Marty soon saw the family picture and now, Dave and Linda were completely back in the picture with Marty. Marty beamed in excitement and began to finish up the song once he and his friends were able to properly restore the timeline. 

"All right!" Marty shouted with glee. "Let's do it!"

The crowd applauded as the song came to an end. 

"Please be miiine~..." Cherry sang along to the last part.

"Say, you're good, man," Marvin Berry said. "Do another one."

"No, I've gotta go." Marty said as he looked at his watch as a flash of lightning was shown outside the gym. 

"Come on, let's do something that cooks." Bob smiled as he grabbed Marty by the arm. 

Marty decided there was time. "Well, all right," he said. "You guys will just have to follow me on this one..." Stepping to the microphone, he said; "We're gonna do one more. Where I come from, they love this rock and roll!" He hit a guitar riff, took a beat and then looked at Jordan. "Gimme a blues beat, like this." he said, picking out the rhythm.

Jordan, smiling, grabbed it immediately and sent the pulse moving.

"Good!" Marty said. Turning to the bass player, he hummed a two-bar line. "Do this and then pick it up when I change." he said.

The bass player nodded, getting it.

"Piano, take the bass line and play it up three octaves," Marty continued. "And sax; improvise on the three-chord progression."

"Do we have time for this?" Atticus asked as he hugged Mo in mid-dance.

"Hey, we got plenty of time!" Lionel said as he continued dancing with Cherry. "So let's make it fun!"

* * *

It was ragged at first, but a moment later, the team started functioning and the music sounded like vintage rock 'n' roll. On the dance floor, heads turned and the kids started dancing faster. A few minutes later, pandemonium started to spread; they had never heard music like this before. Getting caught up himself, Marty whipped off his sport jacket and threw it into the crowd. His movements became more and more like that of Mick Jagger... Then Michael Jackson... Then he drifted into pure Heavy Metal, putting his guitar next to the amp so as to generate feedback. 

"Hey, Chuck? Chuck!" Marvin called as he used the telephone. "It's Marvin! Your cousin, Marvin Barry! You know that new sound you're lookin' for? Well, listen to this!" he then added as he held out the phone as Marty sang and played "Johnny B. Goode". 

Marty soon played the guitar very wickedly and outrageously that the band suddenly stopped and he slid on the stage on his knees and soon saw the crowd staring at him with wide-eyes and concerned looks on their faces.

"...I guess you guys aren't ready for that yet," Marty said bashfully as he gave the guitar back and decided to get going. "But your kids are gonna love it."

On the plus side, George's life was going to change for the greater good.

"Hey, George!" One voice said. "I hear you laid out Biff! Nice going!"

"George, did you ever think about running for class president?" An attractive girl asked.

"We sure could use you on the team, George!" Another boy said.

"Well, I'll have to think about it." George smiled, though he had no idea what team the boy was talking about.

Lorraine smiled lovingly at George as she got over her crush on Marty. 

A smiling, perspiring Marty came up to them, stuck out his hand for George to shake. "Congratulations," he said. "And just in case you're worried about it. Biff was dead serious."

"Good," George nodded. "Congratulations yourself. You're terrific."

"Thanks." Marty replied. 

They stood smiling and chatting about small things until Lorraine finally put her hand on Marty's arm.

"Marty," The girl said. "I hope you don't mind, but George asked if he could take me home."

The group looked happy and thankful for that for Marty's sake.

"That's fine, Lorraine," Marty nodded. "In fact, that's great. I'd like nothing better. You know, I had a feeling about you two."

"I know," she said. "I sort of have a feeling, too. I think George could really make me happy."

"Yeah. Listen, my pals and I gotta be leaving town."

"Oh, I'm sorry. When? At the end of the semester?"

"No. Tonight. And I just wanted to say that it's been... Educational."

"Will we ever see you again?" Lorraine asked.

"Oh, yeah. I guarantee it."

George stepped forward to shake his hand again. "Good night and goodbye then," he said. "Thanks for your help; and all your good advice. I hope I can do the same for you someday."

Marty laughed. "You'll probably give me more advice than I can possibly handle," He turned to go, then paused. "Uh, listen," he said, "If you guys ever have kids, and one of them when, he's eight-years-old accidentally sets fire to the living room rug, please go easy on him."

"Heh." Cherry chuckled from that.

"Erm... Sure," George replied, thinking it one of the strangest requests he had ever beard.

* * *

A moment later, Marty and the others were gone. George and Lorraine stood looking at each other, their hands tightly clasped.

"Marty, it's such a nice name..." Lorraine breathed. "When I have kids, I'm going to name one of them Marty."

"Aren't you rushing things a little?" George laughed.

"Well, maybe a little," Lorraine blushed. "I was thinking I'd like to go to college next year."

"Me, too," George said. "In fact. I'm gonna go no matter what my father says."


	14. Chapter 13: Back to 1985

Meanwhile, Drell and Patch were waiting with Doc as it was getting late.

At 9:45, the scientist began to grow apprehensive. Five minutes later, he was definitely in a nervous state. By 9:55, he was pacing wildly back and forth. "Damn!" he muttered. "Where are those kids?"

The distant thunder now rumbled sullenly all about him. punctuated by sharp flashes of lightning illuminating the outline of his tower-to-lamppost cable network. Town Square was deserted except for a small pack of dogs and he was ready to go, but no Marty or the others. Doc reached into his pocket and pulled out a small round watch, circa 1890. It read: 9:56. The same time was also showing on watches worn on either wrist. There was no doubt in his mind that only eight minutes remained before the appearance of the lightning bolt that could send Marty and the others back to 1985.

"Damn!" Doc repeated, this time in a loud and clear voice.

"I am going to go on to more tougher training with those kids." Drell grumbled.

"Good," Doc grunted finally, satisfied that the vehicle was his Packard once he and Drell saw the kids driving toward them with precipitous speed. "But why drive like that, dummy? Why crack up in the wrong car?"

* * *

A moment later, Marty was available for the answer. Dressed in his 1985 clothes, he pulled Doc's car to the curb, leaped out, took a deep breath, and smiled a bit sheepishly. The group soon joined beside him as they were ready to finally go back home.

"You're late!" Doc scolded the teenagers. "Have none of you any concept of time?!"

"Sony, Doc." Marty apologized.

"And why were you driving my car like a maniac?" Doc then demanded. 

"It was a test. I wanted to see how fast I could go on that stretch and I'm glad I did," Marty explained. "There's a rise in the road down near Cherry Street that's almost like a speed bump. If I'd hit that at a higher speed, it could have sent me into a store window, but if I use the left side of the road it'll be okay." 

"Hmm... That's all very well, but what if you'd been spotted by some cop?" Doc asked.

"What if we're spotted by a cop when I'm in the time machine?" Marty countered.

"If that happens, you keep going, dummy," Drell retorted. "You'll either end up in 1985 or in the lobby of that movie theater." 

"Yeah," Mo gulped. "I see your point."

Grumbling to himself, Doc began to pull the tarpaulin from the DeLorean and raise the trolley hook on back to its full height. "Rush, rush, rush," he then muttered. "You couldn't have cut it much closer."

"Look, we're sorry," Marty replied, feeling guilty now because he spent so much time jamming with the Starlighters. "We had to change our clothes and getting Mom and Dad together took longer than we thought."

"Well... I can understand that, knowing George McFly," Doc then said as he brightened up a little. "So the plan worked?"

"To a T," Sabrina smiled. "They're all lovey-dovey and will stay that way to the bitter end. And here's proof that it's true." Pulling out Marty's wallet, she showed the eccentric smart old man the family picture with all members restored.

"Good." Doc nodded in approval. 

"I think Dad may even go to college," Marty added. "He's got extra confidence now."

"Then that's something else you'll be able to worry about between now and the time you get back to 1985." Doc said with a low frown as he got the DeLorean ready.

"Heh... Great..." Cherry said, a bit weakly.

"What's up, Doc?" Atticus asked.

Lionel beamed, so he and Atticus shared a fist-bump from that.

"Well, if he does go to college, thanks to you, it'll change his life." Doc soon explained.

"For the better, I hope." Marty countered.

"Maybe, but suppose while he's there, he meets some coed who's more attractive to him than your mother?" Doc prompted. "That could cause you to do a quick fade out. Or suppose because of college expenses, your mom and dad decide to hold off having kids for a couple years? If that happens, you may find that you're 12 or 14-years-old in 1985 instead of 17? How do you like them apples?"

Marty shook his head with awe as what Doc just said to him and the others made a lot of sense once he thought about it. "Good thinking. Doc," he said. "But I guess it's too late to worry about that. I'm just glad Dad finally came through. He really laid out Biff Tannen with one punch... Just plain cold-cocked him... I never knew he had it in him. Hell, my old man's never stood up to Biff in his life. And to think I actually saw it when it happened."

"Fine," Doc nodded. "Now get in there and set your destination time. We're rushed as hell."

"Come on, kids; let's go home." Drell added.

"You said it." nodded Patch as they climbed into the car. 

Marty leaped into the DeLorean and watched as Doc punched the keypads so that both last time departed and destination time read 10-26-1985, 1:31 AM. 

"There," Doc said. "If it works, it'll be the same as if you never left."

"Thanks, Doc..." Marty began. "I'd really like to thank you--"

"No time," Doc said, holding up his hand. "Listen. I've painted a white line way down the street there. That's where you start from. I did some calculations so that your run will be as short and efficient as possible," he then informed. "If you floor it from that point and never lift your foot, you'll hit exactly 88 miles an hour when you have to."

"Great." Marty replied.

"Now I've calculated the precise distance, taking into account the acceleration speed and wind resistance retroactive from the moment the lightning will strike..." Doc then said, handing Marty a wind-up alarm clock which seemed quaintly old-fashioned compared to the digital readouts and flashing dials of the DeLorean's dash. "When the alarm goes off, hit the gas from the white line. That's all you have to do, except guide this baby to the right spot."

Marty then nodded along with his friends.

"Well, I guess that's everything," Doc soon said as this looked like goodbye. "Good luck."

Marty extended his hand. "Doc, I'd like to thank you for everything. Even if something goes wrong--" he then tried to warn his good friend.

"Don't even think about that," Doc interrupted. "It'll go fine. And I'd like to thank you for everything. It's been a pleasure."

The two then shook hands anyway.

"I'll see you in about 30 years." Doc said.

"We hope so." Atticus replied.

Once again Marty thought of Doc Brown's date with the terrorists and hoped that the letter he had planted would help bring about a happier ending to his friend's life.

"Don't worry," Doc continued, mistaking Marty's expression for concern about the upcoming race forward into time. "As long as you hit that wire with this hook, everything'll be fine."

"Right." Marty nodded.

Making sure that everything had been taken care of, Doc patted himself down, checking bits of paper and pads for something he might have forgotten. While doing so, he did the one thing Marty didn't want him to do; he discovered the unfamiliar envelope in his inside coat pocket. Withdrawing it, he looked at it curiously. "What's this?" he asked.

"Just a note, from me to you." Marty stammered.

"It's about something in the future, isn't it?" Doc guessed suspiciously.

"No. It's just a thank-you note," Marty lied. "It's kind of gushy."

"People don't write thank-you notes to be opened 30 years later," Doc shook his head firmly as this wasn't a good idea. "I warned you about fooling with the future, kid. The consequences could be dangerous. Now I know this is something about the future, and I've told you a million times we shouldn't mess with that."

"I've gotta take that risk, Doc!" Marty replied firmly. "Your life depends on it."

"Well, I'm not going to accept the responsibility!" Doc refused and at that, he tore up the letter and tossed the pieces into the ashtray of his Packard. 

Atticus, Cherry, Mo, Sabrina, and Patch grimaced uncomfortably and unfortunately as they were only trying to help out.

"Well, this is it." Atticus said as it was time to finally go back home.

"All right. Doc," Marty soon sounded angry that his friend refused to listen to his advice. "In that case I'm just gonna have to tell you straight out--" Before he could get the words out, a tremendous gust of wind shook the car and nearly blew Doc away from his spot next to the open door. At the same time, a loud cracking sound was heard, followed by a succession of lesser crashing noises.

"Good Lord!" Doc yelled.

Marty leaped from the car and both men rushed toward the lamp posts. A huge tree limb from one of the giant oaks in the square was now resting atop the cable between the clock tower and the first lamp post. A paddle plug attached to the lightning rod had come loose and the cable from the clock tower was now swinging free. It was now time to go. 

"Great Scott!" Doc shouted as they ran and he grabbed a large coil of rope and dashed down to the courthouse. "Kid, find the end of that cable. I'll throw the rope down to you!"

Marty gulped once and then set to work. In the semi-darkness, it wasn't easy to locate the end of the cable amidst the tangle of limbs and leaves, but he leaped into the pile-up of debris and started searching. As he did so, he could feel the wind pick up even more. Long rolls of thunder warned him that time was running out; the storm was increasing in ferocity; only a few minutes separated them from 1985 and the blast of lightning that would carry them there. "Damn!" he yelled. "Where the hell are you?"

* * *

Oblivious to the branches tearing his skin, he continued to tear into the pile. Doc, meanwhile, raced up the courthouse stairs like a madman, taking the rough-hewn steps of the ancient belfry three at a time. Arriving at the clock tower room which opened to the ledge directly below the clock, he saw pigeons scatter as he invaded their inner sanctum of safety. His hair blowing wildly in the wind and his rough features illuminated by flashes of lightning, Doc truly resembled the stereotypical mad scientist on a mission that would shake the world. He looked up, saw that the connecting socket was dangling on its cable between the 1 and 2 of the huge clock face. The other end was still attached to the lightning rod on the tower above. Looking down, he saw Marty, five stories below, waving the paddle plug which he had just located.

"Good!" Doc then shouted as he tossed down the rope and it landed in front of the teenage boy. 

Marty then grabbed it, tied the end to the paddle plug, then waved to the older man up above. Doc nodded and began hauling the rope with the cable attached back into the tower. As he continued the hand-over-hand operation, he saw Marty's mouth working and heard partial words. "WHAT?!" he then yelled down. 

"I gotta tell you about the future, Doc!" Marty called out from down on the ground. "Please listen to me!"

"Can't hear you!" Doc shouted back.

"The future!" Marty yelled. "On the night we travel back in time, the terrorists show up and get you--"

"Terror-what?!" Doc yelled back.

"Terrorists!" Marty tried again. "They--"

The clock soon began to turn to 10:00 as the bongs sounded loudly. Marty groaned as he kicked against the ground in frustration as there was no way to get Doc to hear him that time. With the huge bells tolling so close, Doc nearly lost his balance. He quickly regained his footing, however, and was able to haul the rope the rest of the way. Grabbing the paddle plug, be looked down at Marty and gestured that he should get in the car and go. On the ground, Marty hesitated. He knew what his dear old friend meant and understood the urgency of the situation. Still, he wanted one more shot at telling his friend what was in store for him if he wasn't careful. He looked up. Doc gestured wildly toward the DeLorean, then at his watch which told Marty and the others one thing. Marty sighed, turned and raced back toward the car to join his new friends. 

"Run, boy, run!" Doc shouted from the clock tower and he soon untied the rope from the end of the paddle plug and saw its socket mate dangling against the face of the clock. 

Blasts of lightning cast weird shadows and outlines on the clock tower wall and each roll of thunder caused the building to shudder.

"I'll be alive in 1985," Doc said, realizing even as he said it that he was whistling past the graveyard. "I'll be alive in '85, so I'm safe now."

"Lucky you, I guess." Cherry remarked.

The words came out, but Marty knew they were fallacious. Their being alive in 1985 was predicated on his not climbing clock towers in 1955. "Well," he gasped. "Let's just get it done."

Leaning into the wind, he reached for the dangling cable, felt it slip through his ringers, took a deep breath, and reached out again.

Drell helped Marty pull up to the "starting line" Doc had arranged for him, made a U-tum, and sat in the idling DeLorean, his eyes fixed hypnotically on the alarm clock next to him.

"Dammit, Doc, why'd you have to tear up that letter? If only there was a little more time for me to explain--" Marty complained and murmured to himself before he soon looked at the destination times and the clock as it suddenly him. "That's it! There's no way I can have more time at this end, but why can't I make time at the other end?"

"Marty, I'm not sure about that." Atticus said a bit warily.

With that, Marty began pushing the appropriate buttons on the destination time keypad so that it moved from 1:30 to 1:29 and even earlier. "Sure," he murmured. "I'll just show up in 1985 a few minutes before the terrorists shoot Doc and warn him then."He watched as the destination time readout changed from 1:26 to 1:24 and then paused, wondering if seven minutes was enough.

* * *

A moment later, the engine of the DeLorean shook twice and then died. Marty turned the key in the ignition but the car wouldn't start.

"Come on, come on!" Marty then growled in strong dismay. "Don't tell me I came this far to run out of gas!"

Doc, holding the loose cable in his left hand, took a small step along the ledge of the clock tower and had his foot poised to take another when he heard the sound. It was the crunch of rapidly disintegrating stone and he heard it a split second before he felt his body start to fall. Dropping the cable, he leaped forward to grab the only object between himself and the ground; the minute hand of the courthouse tower clock. Even as he cursed to himself, he felt something strike his left foot. Looking down, he saw that the cable was still hanging in mid-air, its end balanced precariously on the instep of his foot. 

For a long moment, the poor old man just hung there, the wind blowing his hair and lightning illuminating his terrorized features. Then, carefully moving his right foot toward the intact section of the ledge, he moved his body toward safety, all tile while trying to keep the cable balanced and ultimately reachable. When his right foot gained the ledge, he took a deep breath, hopped across and, at the same time, kicked the cable into the air so he could catch it with his left hand. He thought the next part of his job—plugging the cable plug into the socket—would be easy, but when he tried putting them together, he discovered they were about a foot apart.

"How the hell did that happen?" Doc groaned to himself before he shook his head and continued to get himself going to move the cable to help Marty and the others get back home even if it felt very impossible right now. "Good!" he yelled, and then: "Damn it!"

The plug at the other end of the connection was now loose, leaving Doc with a useless plugin his hand. He soon clutched to the side of the tower, he merely closed his eyes and tried not to think of anything for a moment, but even with his eyes closed, he could see the lightning crashing about him with increased ferocity and feel the thunder shake the courthouse. Forcing his mind to think, he asked himself: Is there any way I can get everything connected?

"Yes," Doc whispered finally. "I'll probably kill myself, but what the hell?" he then tied the two loose cable ends together and plugged them in and made sure that they were tight and soon made a great big jump once he was sure enough. As he slid down the cable toward the ground, he felt his hands burn but held tight until his feet struck the solid earth. Then he was running with the cable toward the lamppost. "SHIT!" 

The alarm clock in the DeLorean soon went off, giving Marty and the others more and more anxiety. "Come on! Come on!" they then begged and pleaded as Marty tried to turn the key before suddenly, the engine started, but his foot was also on the accelerator. 

Marty and the others were suddenly thrown back in the seat as the DeLorean peeled out. Less than a second before a spectacular bolt of lightning struck. Doc plugged the cable in, spun around and fell backward. Glancing at his speedometer, Marty saw that the car was moving at 88 miles an hour. Then there was a terrific crash of simultaneous lightning and thunder and that seemed to be it as they disappeared into a bright bolt of white light.

Doc soon saw the DeLorean disappear in thin air and it was starting to rain that night and he soon looked very happy with himself. "We did it!" he shouted. "It was impossible, but we did it!"

All that remained was the trolley pole, which had been wrenched free when the car passed under the cable. Now it dangled limply, buffeted by the rain and wind, the only souvenir of young Marty McFly's and his friends' 60-year round trip backward and forward in time.

"Good luck," Doc breathed. "I'll see you soon enough... I hope."

The car came to rest but the darkness continued to surround Marty, broken only by the glowing dials and readouts. Glancing down at them, he saw that last time departed read 11-5-1955, 10:04 p.m. present time and destination time, which were the same, read 10-26-1985, 1:24 AM. That being the case, why the darkness? Marty thought of the scene in a movie he had seen about a time travel machine where the vehicle is enclosed in a mountain. Could that possibly have happened to them?

* * *

"Well... Looks like there's no place to go but backwards." Marty remarked as he put the car in reverse to see some light. 

The group saw that his point of arrival had been the interior of the boarded-up Town Theatre. Everything else was as it became in 1985: the Studebaker dealership was now the Toyota place, the soda shop was gone, and the courthouse had 30 years of additional age on it.

"All right!" Marty shouted. He reached down to turn on the car radio just as a Michael Jackson song was playing.

"All right!" Lionel repeated.

"This is great! We made it home!" Atticus smiled before remembering something. "All right, no time to celebrate, we have somewhere to be."

"Doc... You're right..." Marty nodded. He then slammed the car into forward gear, felt the engine shudder and then die. "Shit!" he yelled.

This time it was really dead. After grinding for a minute, Marty was unable to generate the slightest hint of renewed power. And as he continued to grind, he looked up and saw the familiar terrorist van cruising down the street and around a corner. Horrified, he leaped from the car.

"The terrorists!" The group yelled in memory and panic.

"Come on!" Cherry cried out. "We gotta stop 'em!"

* * *

Then the group was running, through Town Square and all the way down Second Street toward the mall. Arriving at the entrance, he noticed that it was called Lone Pine Mall and was decorated with the image of a single pine tree instead of two. Otherwise, everything was the same, but the stalled DeLorean had cost him valuable time; the terrorist van was already on the parking lot, chasing Doc while the lone figure of Marty McFly along with his friends watched in horror.

Marty stood frozen, horrified and amazed. "Oh, no!" he gasped. "We're too late!" 

Past Marty was shown to be yelling at the terrorists and was shown to be going away in the DeLorean with his friends as the terrorists chased them in the car. It was really odd and strange to watch this replay in front of them from a different point-of-view. However, they saw something they couldn't see before they went back in time: the terrorist van ended up crashing into a Fox Photo stand and the van fell over, trapping the terrorists inside before they heard the sound of police sirens. 

"Jeez." Marty whispered. Suddenly remembering Doc , he turned and ran toward the sprawled figure, still lying face down on the asphalt. 

There were tears in Marty's eyes as be turned his friend over. "Doc..." he said softly. "Doc... please don't be dead, Doc..."

The others began to look very sad for Marty, but especially sad to lose someone like Doc even if they hadn't known him as long as Marty did. 

"...Well, all right, if you insist." A familiar voice said to them which made them stop feeling sad. 

"You're alive!" Marty shouted.

"Of course I'm alive." Doc smiled softly. 

"But you were shot, we saw it!" Marty cried. "We saw it twice!"

"On instant replay, as it were?" Doc smiled again.

Marty nodded.

"The explanation is simple..." Doc said as he soon ripped open his radiation suit to reveal a bulletproof vest. "It's the latest fashion in personal protection," he explained. "Guaranteed to stop a slug from an elephant rifle at 30 yards."

"Were you wearing that all along?" Atticus asked.

"Sadly, no," Doc replied. "The first time around, I must have been taken by surprise. No, my friends, it was your warning that saved me." he then reached into his pocket to show the letter from Marty in 1955 which was taped up since it was previously shredded by hand. 

"What a hypocrite..." Marty shook his head with an emotional smile. "After all that lecturing about screwing up the space-time continuum..."

"Yeah, well, I figured what the hell?" Doc smirked.

The others looked quite tearfully happy about Doc being back like this, even by going against his own word. Nearby, the police had poured out of their cars and were busily rounding up the terrorists.

"Let's get out of here," Doc said. "This is going to be impossible to explain."

"We're with you." Sabrina replied.

Together, they ran toward the mall's parking lot and disappeared in the shadows just as even more police cruisers turned the corner into the mall. As they sped away in the step-van, the bunch discussed their adventures.

"I guess we did screw things up a little." Marty said at the entrance-way to the mall.

"How so?" Doc asked.

"Well, this used to be Twin Pines Mall in the 1985 we knew first time around," Atticus said. "But when we went back, we accidentally ran over one of the farmer's pines. I guess that's why they call it Lone Pine now."

"You'll probably notice a lot of things like that," Doc said with a fond smile. "It'll be your own private joke with Hill Valley for the rest of your life."

"Yeah..." The others replied from that.

Drell tried to see if he could use his magic to fix up the car for the others.

* * *

A few minutes later, they reached the DeLorean and Doc got inside. "Won't start, eh?" he said.

Marty nodded. Doc reached under the ignition, flipped a hidden switch, and smiled as the engine roared to life.

"What are your plans now?" Marty asked.

"Well, first. I'm gonna wait until the cops clean up that mess at the parking lot and then I'll drive my step-van outa there," Doc said. "I got a few more plutonium pellets that I can use to travel, so I think that's what I'll do. After all, time's a-wasting."

"How far ahead are you going?" Atticus asked. 

"I figure I'll take it slow at first," Doc simply shrugged. "Maybe I'll go about 30 years, just to get my feet wet. Then maybe I'll take a look-see at the 22nd or 23rd centuries..

"Well, good luck," Marty said. "If you get a chance, look me up in 2015. I'll be... Let's see... 47-years-old. Wow. That's ancient."

"That's just a kid. Anyway, I sure will look you up, my boy. It's funny, isn't it?" Doc chuckled. "I had to wait 30 years to catch up to you. Now you've gotta wait 30 years to catch up to me. Ain't life weird...?" he then added with a wink. 

Marty closed the door and watched him drive off.

"What a guy that Doc Brown is, eh?" Lionel smirked.

"You said it." Marty chuckled a bit.


	15. Chapter 14: Back to the Future

Everyone soon went to turn in for the night. When he awakened, he was still in his clothes and morning sunlight was streaming through the window of his bedroom. Opening his eyes slowly, Marty looked around at the room which he knew so well and yet seemed so foreign to him now. Everything was still there, from the SR5 posters to the audio equipment. A calendar on the wall with X's through the first 25 days of October 1985 informed him that today was the 26th. Could it have all been a dream? The others seemed to had slept over from last night.

"Guys?" Marty asked.

"Mm... Is it morning already?" Cherry mumbled, not realizing that she was snuggling up against Lionel.

Lionel, in question, was purring contentedly as he slept.

"I wanna sleep with my pillow some more..." Cherry yawned.

"I hate to be the one to tell you this, but that's not a pillow." Patch smirked.

"Then what am I...?" Cherry muttered before looking to see that it was Lionel and she let out a yelp in surprise.

Lionel yawned as he woke up. "Keep it down, wouldja?... Some of us are trying to recharge..." he muttered as he rubbed his eyes.

Marty soon got out of bed first and looked in the mirror before pinching himself a few times to make sure that this wasn't a dream.

"Was it all a dream?" Sabrina wondered.

"I'm not sure." Mo shrugged as she sat up.

"I doubt it..." Lionel replied.

Marty soon went to get ready for the day as the others gathered around to get out and about as they were guests in the McFly home.

* * *

Linda and Dave were seated at the dining room table. They appeared the same facially but nearly everything surrounding them, from their clothing to the furniture, was different. Dave wore an expensive business suit and was reading Forbes magazine; sister Linda was dressed casually but elegantly as she ate what appeared to be Eggs Benedict. The dining room was equipped with much more expensive furniture than he remembered, the table set with delicate linen.

"Oh, if Paul calls me tell him I'm working at the boutique late tonight." Linda said to her brother at the table. 

"Linda, first of all, I'm not your answering service," Dave rolled his eyes. "Second of all, somebody named Greg or Craig called you just a little while ago."

"Now which one was it?" Linda asked as that sounded important to her. "Greg or Craig?"

"I don't know, I can't keep up with all of your boyfriends." Dave scoffed.

Marty soon came to see his older siblings. "...Are we having company?" he then asked.

Linda and Dave looked at him and smiled.

"Not that I know of." Linda shrugged.

"What the heck is this?" Mo asked.

"...Breakfast." Linda then said like it was obvious. 

"Then why is everything so ritzy-looking?" Marty murmured. "Isn't today Saturday?"

"That's right." Dave nodded as he read the business section of the newspaper.

"Aren't you working this morning, Dave?" Marty asked as he noticed that.

"Sure. I always work on Saturdays." Dave nodded.

"At Burger King?" Marty then asked.

"What?" Dave laughed at that. "Are you hungover or something?"

"No. I just don't understand the fancy suit." Marty explained what he meant. 

"Are you all right, Marty?" Dave raised an eyebrow. "I always wear a suit to the office. 

"Yeah. Are you guys all right?" Linda added.

"Sure. Never better." Marty replied wearily.

Dave and Linda just shook their heads.

"Here. Let me take that; I'll mail it from the office." Dave said as he noticed his younger brother had an envelope with him.

Marty released the envelope and sat at the table. A bowl of fresh strawberries was waiting for him. "I still don't get it," he muttered. "Strawberries... Eggs Benedict... We never used to eat that kind of stuff. It was just cereal and toast with a paper towel for napkins. What's going on?"

George and Lorraine's voices were soon heard as they came in from outside and sounded very happy. 

"Where were they, anyway?" Cherry asked.

"Same as always," Dave replied. "Tennis at the club."

"Tennis?" Marty asked. "Dad and Mom don't play tennis "

"Then that explains why they've been club doubles champions for six years." Linda said archly.

"I can't believe it." Marty muttered to his friends.

"Where have you been?" Linda demanded.

Marty soon saw how his parents changed dramatically in the new timeline. which proved to be a shock. Both looked tanned and healthy in their tennis outfits, but the transformation was far deeper than that. George radiated confidence and self-esteem while Lorraine was thin and dynamic-looking.

"Oh... She looks so pretty." Atticus smiled.

"And George looks so... Stunning... Like a prince charming for Lorraine." Sabrina replied.

Marty's only response was looking jaw-dropped. 

"What's the matter, son?" George asked.

"Mom! Dad!" Marty said. "You look... Great!"

"Why, thank you, Marty." Lorraine smiled.

"What can he want?" Linda said. "He's already got everything."

George and Lorraine soon looked at their youngest quizzicly. 

"I don't want anything," Marty said. "It's a great present. Just seeing how terrific you look."

"Wow." Dave laughed.

"Well. Tonight's the big night, isn't it?" Lorraine smiled as she put her arm around Marty.

Marty looked at her blankly.

"The night?" The others asked.

"Isn't tonight Marty's big date with Jennifer Parker?" Lorraine asked. "She's such a nice girl. I really like her a lot."

Marty could hardly believe this was his mother talking, even taking the physical transformation into account. Could this be the same woman who continually bad-mouthed Jennifer? Obviously not. "Pardon me, Ma?" he muttered.

"You're going up to the lake tonight, aren't you?" Lorraine reminded like it should had been obvious. "Just the two of you. Haven't you been planning it for two weeks?'

"Mom, we went through this last night," Marty replied. "How can I go if Dad's car is wrecked?"

"Wrecked?" George said.

"He's been like this all morning," Dave explained. "It's like he went to bed and woke up in a different house with strange people aside from his friends sleeping over."

Lionel chuckled sheepishly. "Heh... Sure... You could say that..." he replied.

"I'm sorry... I... Thought the car... Was wrecked. You lent it to Biff Tannen and he ran into somebody with it." Marty tried to explain. 

"Well, there's nothing wrong with the car that I can see," George chuckled. "In fact, Biff is out there waxing it right now."

Marty got up, walked to the kitchen window, and looked out. There in the driveway was a sparkling new BMW. Next to it stood Biff Tannen, polishing diligently. His expression also seemed subtly altered, devoid of the usual arrogance and belligerence. As the former school bully worked, he whistled a happy tune.

"Jeez," Marty murmured to himself. "What a difference a belt in the chops can make."

"Hey, Biff!" George called out as he opened the kitchen window. "Don't forget; two coats of wax this time. Your job last week was a little sloppy."

"Just finishing up the second coat now." Biff smiled innocently. 

"Now Biff, don't con me." George warned. 

"I'm... I'm sorry, Mr. McFly, I mean, I was just starting on the second coat." Biff then grinned nervously, sounding friendly and a bit of a kiss-up. 

"Don't be dictatorial, George." Lorraine cautioned, smiling at her husband, though still deeply adored her husband. 

"Sorry. I don't mean to sound that way. It's just that some employees will try to get away with murder if you don't stay on 'em. I've had to keep Biff in line ever since high school," George shrugged before facing his children. "Although if it hadn't been for Biff, your mother and I never would have met."

"Yeah, Dad," Linda interrupted. "You've told us a million times already. You beat him up when he was bothering Mom and that's how the two of you fell in love."

"It was more than that," Lorraine added with a dreamy sigh. "Your father literally came to my rescue. It was so romantic~"

"Cornball City." Linda said, rolling her eyes.

"Whatever happened to the other guy?" Marty asked.

"What other guy?" George replied.

"The guy I was named after." Marty explained. 

"Oh... He vanished into thin air," Lorraine said with a small shrug as she looked at him. "I don't remember ever telling you about him."

"Uh, you must have, Mrs. McFly," Cherry replied. "Otherwise, how would Marty know about him?"

"No..." Lorraine shook her head.

* * *

Biff entered a moment later and handed George a hard-cover book. "Oh, Mr. McFly," he said. "This just came in."

"Good," George nodded. He held up the book, which was entitled _A Match Made In Space_. The artwork showed a bedroom with a space alien very reminiscent of Marty's Darth Vader and Lionel's Skeletor speaking to a young man cowering beneath the covers. The author's name, in large letters, was George McFly.

"Holy cow!" Marty gasped. "Dad, you wrote that?" 

"My first novel," George nodded proudly. "I hope it sells." 

"Of course it'll sell," Lorraine gushed. "After all, it's not like you're a nobody. You've been selling stories ever since college."

"That's right, Dad," Dave added. "You're the one who's always telling us to have confidence and a positive attitude. Where's yours now?"

"You're right," George said. "I'm sure this book is going to do just fine," Then, turning to Marty, he put a strong hand on his shoulder and said: "And that tape of yours is going to do just fine, too."

"I hope you're right." Marty muttered, suddenly thrust back to his 1985 cares and aspirations.

Cherry looked over the book with wide wonder as she wanted that to be her someday. Lionel gave her a gentle pat on the shoulder, a thumbs-up and a smile in response. Atticus, Mo, Patch, and Sabrina also smiled to Cherry.

"Marty, haven't I always told you that all it takes is a little self-confidence?" George smiled as he put his arm around his youngest kid. "If you put your mind to it, you can do anything."

"Oh, Marty. Here's your keys," Biff smiled as he handed Marty something as he seemed to be in a good mood. "You're all waxed and ready for tonight."

"My keys?" Marty stammered.

"I put in the garage," Biff nodded. "Just in case it rains."

* * *

Turning and racing to the garage, Marty gasped with amazement when he opened the door. There sat a tricked out black Toyota SR5 truck, as shining and beautiful as when it sat on the showroom floor. Only now it was _his_! He ran to it, got inside and caressed the upholstery, gear shift, every switch and dial within reach. Opening the garage door, he was all ready to take a spin when he heard a familiar voice.

"How about a ride, Mister?" It was Jennifer, standing on the parking pad, looking as gorgeous as ever. At least to Marty of course. 

"Jen! Are you ever a sight for sore eyes! Let me look at you!" Marty gushed as he reunited with his girlfriend as he was ecstatic to see her again. 

"Are you okay?" Jennifer asked as she was confused about his gushing. "You're acting like you haven't seen me in a year."

"I feel like I haven't seen you for 30 years." Marty smiled.

"That's a long time to be deprived." Jennifer smiled back. 

Marty then pulled Jennifer close to him as they were just about to share a kiss with each other when he suddenly felt a rush of electricity race through his body. Jennifer must have experienced it as well, for her hair crackled and literally stood on end for a few seconds.

"Holy--" Marty smiled, but before more could be said or done...

A sonic boom sounded and the group soon suddenly spotted Doc Brown's DeLorean which suddenly drove up and came to an instant stop on the McFly family property. Inside sat Doc, wearing a cowboy hat. When he got out of the car, it was possible to see that he was dressed in a bizarre mixture of clothing types that included striped plastic pants, a cape, and strange variation on a Roman tunic.

"Marty!" Doc gasped once he saw the teenage boy, wearing a silver visor over his eyes. "You've gotta come back with me!"

Marty waved his hand in front of Doc's eyes, not sure if the older man could see him or not. 

"Back? Back where?" asked Atticus.

"Back to the future!" Doc exclaimed.

"Why?" Cherry asked. 

"It's important." Doc urged. 

"But I've got Jennifer here," Marty said. "We were just gonna try out my new wheels."

Cherry and the others soon came out, looking at Doc's choice in clothes.

"Man, and I thought Drell dressed funny." Cherry commented.

"That can wait," Doc replied to Marty. "Anyway, you can bring her along. This concerns her, too."

"What do you mean?" Marty asked as this was just so sudden. "Does something happen to her? To us? Do we turn into assholes or something?"

Doc paused for a moment, looking like he had to think for that answer before shaking his head. "No, you and Jennifer turn out fine, but your kids! Marty, something's gotta be done about your kids."

"Our kids?" Jennifer asked, her head swiveling between Marty and Doc. "What kids? We aren't even engaged yet..."

"We'll explain later," Marty said. "Would you like to come along?"

"Along to where?" Jennifer asked.

"The future," Marty replied. "The year 2015 or thereabouts. I think that's where Doc was headed--"

"We better hurry!" Doc rushed them.

"So are we coming with, or are we gonna join them later on?" asked Lionel to the others.

The others shrugged a bit. Their question seemed to be answered as the DeLorean soon drove down the road, but into the sky and soon went about 30 years into the future.

"I guess we'll catch up with them later..." Sabrina said as they soon went to her house.

"Radical!" said Lionel. "Maybe we can go to Atticus' place and see his parents come home with his new sister."

"Hmm... Alright..." Sabrina replied. "Congratulations by the way, Atticus."

"Thanks." Atticus smiled.

* * *

They soon came into the Fudo household.

"Mom? Dad? I'm home!" Atticus called out as he unlocked the front door to let himself and his friends in as well.

"Hey, Atticus," Jessica, Atticus's older sister, waved as they came in. "Mom and Dad just got home with our new sister; they're in the kitchen, so you guys can head in and introduce yourselves."

"Jess!" Atticus beamed to his big sister.

Jessica smiled at him until he suddenly hugged her. "Atticus, you act like you haven't seen me in 30 years." she then giggled.

"Heh, funny story about that." Atticus said before going into the kitchen to meet the newest member of his family.

In the kitchen, Atticus' parents were sitting at the table with Thor, having lunch with a little blue-eyed girl with blonde pigtails.

"Afternoon, Mr. and Mrs. Fudo... And Thor," remarked Lionel. "I see you've brought home a new addition to the family."

"Actually, I was waiting for you guys to come back," replied Thor. "Jessica invited me in, and we talked for a little bit."

"I don't think he meant you, Thor." Cherry muttered a bit.

"Oh... Right..." Thor grinned bashfully. "I totally knew that."

"Suuure..." Cherry replied.

"Hello, everyone," Patrick smiled. "Atticus, welcome home. I hope you'll be a good big brother like I was."

"I'll do my best, Dad," replied Atticus, before glancing down at the little girl. "And who might you be, young lady?"

"Hello," The girl replied. "My name is Darlene Anna, but you can call me Darla."

"Heh, funny..." Cherry chuckled. "You don't meet many Darla's anymore. The only one I know at the top of my head is like from The Little Rascals."

Lionel nodded. "Pleased to meet you, Darla," he replied. "I gotta feeling we're all gonna be tubular pals!"

"I hope so." Darla said.

"This is your big brother Atticus and his friends," Emily introduced. "Thor, you already know. That's Atticus's dog, Patch, Mo, his girlfriend, Cherry Butler, Lionel Schwartz, and Sabrina Spellman."

The group waved to her in response.

"You seem familiar..." Mo said to Darla. "Haven't I seen you on TV?"

"Uh, I don't think so." Darla smiled bashfully.

"If you say so..." shrugged Thor. "I'm gonna go watch _Transformers_... Or maybe _ThunderCats_."

"Hey, either one works." agreed Lionel.

"Tell me about it," Thor smirked. "Anyone wanna join me?"

"Uh, maybe after I spend some time with my new sister." Atticus smiled.

"I'm down for that," replied Lionel, joining Thor. "You and your new sis have fun, buddy."

"Thanks, guys, we'll all do something fun later, I promise." Atticus smiled.

The group decided to let Atticus stay home to bond with Darla as Thor led Lionel to watch some action cartoons. And they'd meet up with Marty and Doc again sometime, but until then, they had all the time in the world. 

The End, right? Kinda, but not really...


End file.
